


Honor Among Aqours

by Epyon



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: A bit of Tsundere Yoshiko, Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - Thieves, Blood, F/F, Kanan is leader, Language, OOC, Some Funs and Laughs, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-06 01:24:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14631161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Epyon/pseuds/Epyon
Summary: Kanan, You, and Yoshiko were orphaned at a young age. They did what they needed to do to survive the poor conditions of their home town. Kanan saved You and Yoshiko from death and the three decided to form a thief group and steal from the rich and help the poor if they can. Their group soon expands and their heists become more intricate. When will they be able to call it quits and live a peaceful life? Or will the call of thievery get them in more problems than they wanted?





	1. The Three of Us

“Hey Yoshiko, you in position?”

“I’m in position, is You ready?

“I’m good, no guards at your escape route.”

“Alright, I’m approaching the target. Yoshiko have the safe cracked when I get there.”

“Roger.”

“Yousoro~, let’s begin.”

Kanan approached her target. A woman dressed in a long red dress, single strap over the left shoulder. Kanan herself, was wearing a tuxedo. Pretty standard but, a woman in a suit can entice any person, especially one of Kanan’s physique. She went up to the bar the target was sitting at.

“Yamazaki 12 Whiskey please.”

“On the way ma’am.”

 “Oh, you like Yamazaki Whiskey?” The woman in the red dress asked.

“It’s my preferred drink on my nights out.”

“I too love the taste of this whiskey. Been my drink for as long as I remember.”

“I see we have similar tastes in alcohol. You look rather ravishing my lady.”

“Charmed. Takiyama is my name. May I get yours?”

“Okida. Pleased to make your acquaintance Ms.Takiyama.”

"Aren't you a bit young? How old are you?"

"Oh I get that a lot. I'm 19."

“Ms Okida, might I say you look stunning. It’s not often you see a woman wear a suit.”

“I’m flattered. But I’m not as breathtaking as you. How is it that you’re alone on this fine evening?”

“Stop it you, I’d rather not mingle with those peasants. This little party is to only show off my riches and only those I deem worthy of my time will be allowed to talk to me.”

“Oh, thenI guess I’m worthy of your time.”

“You are indeed my dear.”

Kanan looked the bartender and noticed she went away. She then looked over to the other attendants at the party and pointed over to a group. Asking who those people are, Ms. Takiyama turned around and disclosed her info about the group in question. Taking this opening, Kanan moved her right hand to behind the bar counter and placed something in the sink. Looking over to Ms. Takiyama, Kanan looked over her person then to her right side and found her target. Within the small purse is the key she needs to get for Yoshiko. Kanan got Ms. Takiyama’s attention again and asked her about some of the other drinks on display. She happily obliged and made her way to the other side. She turned around and picked out what she thinks would be good to discuss and Kanan pressed a button on her watch.

A small “psssshhhh” could be heard and got Ms.Takiyama’s attention for a brief moment before she returned to what she was doing. She found a bottle of Momoshu and went to place it on the counter. Then the sink suddenly burst and fell of its hinges. Water sprayed onto Ms.Takiyama and she dropped the Momoshu. From her fumbling, she ended up falling down and the bartender quickly went to help her up. Kanan took this chance and looked through her purse, making sure to block any view somebody might have. Kanan gave the purse over to the bartender as she helped Ms. Takiyama to the bathroom.

Yoshiko was looking through the office for clues to the safe. She looked behind the paintings and found nothing. The closet didn’t have anything. As she was looking, the door was being unlocked and Yoshiko hid behind the desk at the far end of the room. A guard walked in and looked around.

“Huh, I thought I heard something. Oh well, time for a smoke.” The guard closed the door and went over to a stand where a pack of cigarettes was. She began to get one out before Yoshiko grabbed her and put her into a chokehold. The guard gasped for air as she struggled to break free. Yoshiko added more force into the chokehold as she felt the guard weakening. With the guard out cold, Yoshiko looked around for someplace to hide the body. The dresser was a nice spot and Yoshiko tossed the guard in before locking it.

Yoshiko returned to looking for the safe. She walked around trying to figure out where it could be before she went to the desk she used to hide. Poking around, Yoshiko heard a hollow sound under a floorboard under the desk. Knocking on it again confirmed her suspicions and there was a small handle carved into one board. She lifted it up and a hatch popped up with the safe underneath it. Yoshiko began to work, from their info, the safe has a special key lock. But the outside is protected by a manifold lock.

Beginning her work, Yoshiko took out a note that held the clues to the combination. Slowly Yoshiko began deciphering the clues. Laughing could be heard from outside as Yoshiko knows that Kanan is making her move. After a bit Yoshiko, figured out the numbers to the safe and worked the dial. The manifold lock opened and the first door opened. A knock could be heard from the door.

*knock…knock……knock knock.*

Yoshiko went to open the door and Kanan was there with the special key for the safe. Yoshiko took it and went over to the safe and opened it, She pulled out the treasure in the safe and Kanan whistled at their haul. She took a quick glance outside to make sure no one was there and signaled Yoshiko to clean up before they made their way to the garage to escape.

You waited in the garage with their escape vehicle. There were two guards here when she arrived and she quietly took them out. She threw their bodies into the crates that were in the garage and stood watch for any other hostiles that could come in. She heard voices coming her way and hid in a dark corner.

“Man, that was funny what happened there.”

“Yeah, Ms. Takiyama looked like she was about to blow a casket.”

“Hahaha, if you asked me, I don’t care if she was embarrassed or not, as long as I get my pay, she could have a chandelier dropped on her for all I care.”

“True that. Hey, where are the other two?”

You saw that there were two guards that walked in. They were looking for their friends that You neutralized. She had to quickly come up with something to keep them from raising any alarms.

*snore*

“Lazy bums, sleeping on the job.”

“Bah, I’d sleep too if I had to guard the garage of all places.”

“Come on let’s wake those fools up before we don’t get paid at all.”

One guard went ahead to the direction where You was. The other just stood at the door and looked around. Once it was confirmed that one was out of sight of the other, You jumped at the guard coming towards her and knocked them out. She then made her way around the crates in the garage and looked at the other guard. Once she turned around, You tackled her and slammed her head into the wall, knocking her out.

“You, we’re making our way to the garage, have the getaway ready.”

“Copy that.”

You got into the car and started it up. She heard some rumblings from above her, no doubt from Ms. Takiyama’s anger over her embarrassing incident. Kanan and Yoshiko appeared in her rear view mirror and she waved them over. Kanan and Yoshiko both got into the back seat and You opened the garage door and drove out before closing it.

“We got the treasure?”

“Yep, check it out. A gold encrusted case and inside is the sapphire and diamond necklace.”

“Wooo, we gonna get some good money.”

“All in a day’s work.  Let’s call Sarah and see what she can sell it for when we get back.”

 

Kanan was an orphan. She was left at the doors of her orphanage when she was a baby and the caretakers took her in. She hated every moment at that place. It was nothing but slave labor and being belittled by rich people. Trying to go against it would only result in her being punished by the caretakers and her fellow orphans isolated her from their groups. Kanan would be alone and have to find her own ways of having fun. Searching around the area, Kanan found an abandoned room in a building next to the orphanage. That room would end up as her escape as she put things she finds in there. Food, books, manga, whatever she felt was worth keeping away from the others.

One day she decided that she would leave the orphanage on her own. Taking what she could, she left and wondered around her poor town. She had to fend for herself as there were plenty of homeless people and thieves around. Luckily she had some practice in self defense from her books. As Kanan wondered around, she noticed a small girl being forcibly dragged into an alley. She went to see what was going on and found the ash haired girl being choked by her captors. Kanan couldn’t let this continue and sprung into action. She picked up a piece of wood in a pile of trash and ran at the criminals hitting the one choking the girl in the head. The three criminals turned around and looked at Kanan. She stood firm at her opponents who were bigger than her.

They began their attack on Kanan, ganging up on her. Kanan did what she could trying to keep the fight one on one as much as possible. Aiming for their legs to immobilize them for as long as possible. It was too much as one grabbed her by the wrist and smacked Kanan. The ash haired girl came out of nowhere and stabbed one in the back with a broken bottle. The ash haried girl continually stabbed the down criminal before another one kicked her. Kanan bit the one grabbing her then smacked them in the head with her wooden weapon. Kanan kept her attack going until they were unconscious. Kanan turned her attention to the last one and saw that the ash hair girl was in trouble and ran towards them. A swipe to the back of the leg then to the head staggered the third criminal and then was finish off with being stabbed in the neck with a shard of glass.

The two girls looked at each other, breathing heavily from their fight. Kanan offered a hand to the mysterious girl and she took it.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’d be dead if you didn’t show up.”

“Why were they after you?”

“Just some punks looking for fun. Killing children seemed to be part of their fun.”

“In this town, I believe it.”

“Yeah, the names You.”

“Mine is Kanan.”

“What you doing out here?”

“I left my home, couldn’t take living there.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I’d rather die than live a subservient life with no way to get out.”

“I agree with you there.”

“You have a home?”

“Nope. Been living in the streets for a while now.”

“Want to stick together then? It will be safer with two of us.”

“Yousoro~”

“What?”

“It’s my catchphrase. Yousoro~, I’ll take you up on your offer.”

“Awesome.”

Kanan and You were partners in crime. They went around the town, looking for resources to live. Day after day, it was a fight for survival. Moving to the richer part of town was a no go with the higher security in those parts. So staying in the poor part was their only way to live. They robbed other scavengers and got into fights with others. Killing was something they wanted to avoid if they could, but they knew it would be tough to win at their age without killing their bigger opponents.

A month later, they made their way to the abandoned port area at night. The idea was that, there had to be some supplies there from trade, so it was a good option to look. Though the port was left to rot years ago, it still didn’t hurt to search. They slowly combed the area, moving from warehouse to warehouse. Kanan spotted something at a docking point, and went to take a closer look. When they got close enough, they could see a blue haired girl with a side bun fighting off some scavengers.

“Be a good girl and give us your supplies.”

“Fuck you! I’ll die without it.”

“Such language for a little girl. You’re better off hungry and looking for more food than being killed right here.”

“Heh, like you trash are worth giving food to. Don’t you have better things to do then mess with a kid.”

“You asked for it you bitch.”

The blue haired girl fought the best she could. It was clear the numbers advantage would catch up to her as it was 1v4. Kanan and You ran in to save her. Before they got there the mysterious girl got smacked in the back of the head and fell into the water. As the scavengers laughed, Kanan and You pulled out their knives and threw them. Two got hit in the back of the head. The other two looked at where the knives came from. Before they could respond, knives were impaled into their chests and they fell back. Kanan hurried and jumped into the water and was able to save the girl. You pointed to a small makeshift shack to the side and they carried the girl over there.

When she woke up, her head was throbbing in pain. She felt wrapping on her head and a warm fire near. Sitting up, the girl looked around her surroundings and saw Kanan and You. She jumped back, trying to find a weapon or something to defend herself.

“Woah woah, we’re not your enemy.”

“How can I be sure you’re not?”

“You’re alive right now, so that means we saved you from those scavengers.”

“T-that’s a good point.”

“Here, take some medicine for your headache.”

“I’m glad we made it in time, or you would’ve drowned.”

“Who are you two anyways and why waste your time saving me?”

“I’m Kanan, this is You. We saw you in trouble and wanted to help.”

“It was similar to me when I was about to get killed.”

“Really? Saving people in this town? That’s almost unheard of.”

“Yeah, but I would hate myself if I didn’t save someone that’s similar to me.”

“How so?”

“I’m an orphan, and You was too.”

“Huh. Well my mom died in a fire about two years ago and I’ve been living on my own since.”

“No family?”

“No one claimed me, so I did what I needed and got the hell out of child services. They would probably put me ins ome bad living situation anyways.”

“True. How old are you?”

“I’m 7.”

“Wow, I’m only 8 and Kanan’s 9.”

“Cool.”

“Want to join us? It would be easier to survive with the three of us?”

“Considering what just happened… sure.”

“Okay, but how would we move about with the three of us?”

“Is my shack not good enough?”

“It’s too out in the open. We steal and kill if need be to survive, so some place a bit more private would be better.”

“I know a place.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s a place near my old orphanage. Might take a bit to get there, but I think it’s our best bet for a safe place.”

“Its better than being out here with these garbage mortals.”

“You really do have a mouth on you.”

“Comes with the territory.”

The three girls made their way through town back to Kanan’s old orphanage. Carefully they took backdoors and hidden paths to avoid as many confrontations as possible. It also gave them a good opportunity to look for supplies when they could. Once they arrived, Kanan pointed to the building next to the orphanage. She told them there was a second way up there up it would require them to go to the roof of the orphanage. Within a month, the orphanage was dead. The building was in tatters and disrepair. Whatever happened there, Kanan didn’t care, believing that the people here deserved their fates.

Once on the roof, Kanan jumped into an open window and motioned You and Yoshiko to follow. In the building they made their way up to the next floor and through a hole in a wall into a room. It was Kanan’s hideout with her collection of things that she left behind.

“Wow, you left all of this.”

“I’m only one person, what good would carrying this stuff be?”

“Nice dwelling you have here. This would be a good location for us to use as a hideout for the time being.”

“Woah, you got the manga series about thieves I like.”

“Huh?”

“Look, “A Thieves Bushido”, I love this series.”

“Oh, yeah, I needed to entertain myself when I’m up here by myself.”

“You also got scriptures about defense I see.”

“Yeah, I had to learn to fend for myself.”

“We could use this. You wouldn’t mind teaching me some of this stuff?”

“I’d be happy to help. What about you You?”

“I’d like that too.”

“Cool, I’d never had friends before.”

“Really? You don’t act like you never had friends.”

“I feel comfortable around you two for whatever reason.”

“You have a crush on me or something? I know my beauty can be bewitching.”

“Pfft, yeah. I totally have the hots for you Yoshiko.”

“I knew it…. wait.. you..you do?”

*kiss*

“Wha.wha..what?”

“Me too”

*kiss*

“Aaaaaa”

“Look, look, Yoshiko is frozen stiff.”

“Hahaha, you’re really funny you know that Yoshiko?”

“Woah, where am I?”

“Hahaha! You’re really a riot. Come here Kanan.”

*kiss*

“What are you two doing? Stealing my first kiss then kissing each other.”

“Well, the three of us are gonna be together so might as well get past the kissing part.”

“Where the hell you get that logic from? Your mangas?”

“Maybe, but let’s move onto something that could change our lives.”

“Kissing is not life changing enough?”

“You want more?”

“Hrgh, le-let’s just move on.”

“So, what is it you want to talk about Kanan?”

“I think we should make our way to Tokyo.”

“From here?”

“Yeah, we’ve been stealing stuff for survival and it’s clear we have a thing against rich people. So let’s steal our way to Tokyo and become thieves. WE can totally steal from these rich people and make a living outselves. Hell, we could even make life easier for those modest living people.”

“Yousoro~, that sounds amazing.”

“Like Robin Hood.”

“Exactly Yoshiko. We make our way to Tokyo, find a suitable HQ, build our network, then start stealing from people and places.”

“We need a name for our trio.”

“I got it. We will be Aqours.”

“Why?”

“Well, this was a sea town so I figured Aqours would fit.”

“Sound reasoning.”

“No complaints here.”

“Cool, now let’s make plans for how we’ll get to Tokyo and also let’s steal some stuff on the way there to build up our skills.”

“We can use some of these books and mangas as reference.”

The three girls cheered as they now have a plan and a goal to work for. Day by day, week by week, the three would grow their supplies and skills. Using Kanan’s secret room as their HQ. They went to different parts of their home town gathering things they needed and picking up info about Tokyo. There was a map of Japan on the wall and markings with stops on the way to Tokyo. They knew heading straight to Tokyo the way they are was a death wish so they decided to spend some time in some towns on the way. It took about 2 years before they finally got to Tokyo. They’ve grown and and their thieving skills have grown. You took the chance to learn how to drive. Of course she is a bit short to drive properly but she made tools to help her. Whenever they had time to settle down and find a car, she would practice. During one of their stops, they met sisters named Sarah and Leah Kazuno. The sisters would become their connection to the market for selling their stolen treasures.

 

It was now a few years later. Kanan was 14, You was 13, and Yoshiko was 12. Through the Kazuno’s, they were able to find a nice three story home to call HQ. In fact the entire building, was theirs. Their bills were paid monthly automatically, so they didn’t have to worry too much about it. There was a nice view of the city from the top floor. Their bedrooms were on the second floor. The meeting room was on the third with a communications room and bathroom. The first floor had a bathroom, living room, kitchen, R&D, and a small study. If any additions are needed, they know who to call.

“I can tell you that your last haul resulted in $300,000 in damages to the house. The owners were pissed when they returned. The objects you stole can be sold on the market for $100,000.”

“Really? I thought they would be more valuable than that.”

“It is what it is You. Sarah, is looking to see if there are any other interests for them, but this is what you three will get most likely.”

“Thank you Leah, we appreciate what you two are doing.”

“It’s no problem, you did save me and my sister.”

“Crazy to think the two girls we saved not only work as sellers for rich people, but also have some connections in the black market.”

“We have to do what we have to. As merchants, we need to know as much about the market value for things as possible. Even in the black market.”

“You two won’t be in trouble?”

“Our parents don’t really care. They’re involved in the black market themselves so we’re good. Oh and your upgrades should be arriving by the end of the week.”

“Thanks, see ya later.”

“Bye.

“Haaaaaa, this is the life. Our own home, outfitted with a bunch of cool tech. Living with my two best friends. Man, we made it.”

“Yeah we.. Yoshiko, don’t overuse the massage chair.”

“Waahhhh, its amazing.”

“Let me join you. Hup”

“Get off me You.”

“You’re so warm Yoshiko.”

“Let me in on the action…. There we go.”

“It’s a bit tight with the three of us here.”

“We’ll buy another massage chair.”

“Good idea Kanan. Muah.”

“You two should go somewhere private if you’re gonna be all flirty.”

“Aww, come here Yoshiko. Mnnnn.”

“We love you too Yoshiko. Mnnnn.”

“Stop.....hey.…okay..okay, I love you two too.”

“Can’t wait till we find our next target.”

“Or we could relax for a bit. We have money from the sapphire necklace we stole recently.”

“Yoshiko is right, let’s relax for now. No need to steal things we see on impulse. How about we go to that cake shop?”

“Yeah!”

“I’m in.”

The three made their way to the cake shop. The bustling city life of Tokyo was a bit intimidating at first, but they quickly adjusted and find that it made some of their work easier. With their home where it is, it doesn’t take long to get to different prefectures and if need be, travel to other cities. Sitting outside the shop, they enjoyed their cakes and tea. On the city block on the other side of the road, an orange haired girl was walking fast, looking around to make sure she wasn’t followed. A coffee shop two blocks down had a piano and there sat a red headed pianist playing the piano while her eyes scanned the patrons. Just down the street from the shop was a small library, where a light brown haired girl was writing down something in her book as someone checks out their books.


	2. Mikan

It was a warm Saturday morning. You was going to a bakery to buy some breakfast for Aqours. She took in the nice quiet morning before the rush hits in about thirty minutes. Not paying attention to she ended up bumping into a girl who was in a hurry somewhere.

“Sorry, I was in a hurry.”

“It’s all good. My fault for not paying attention.”

You looked at the girl. She had orange hair, wearing a white t-shirt, and overalls. The orange haired girl bowed and was off in a hurry. Strange girl, was what You thought as she watched the girl disappear around the corner. Remembering what she was doing, You made her way into the bakery and bought some food.

Returning back home, she found Yoshiko passed out with her head on the table. Kanan was trying to get her up, but to no avail. You looked and saw books on the table which could only mean one thing. Time to home school Yoshiko. As thieves, they would rather not attend school. That didn’t mean they didn’t try to go to school. The three girls enrolled in middle school, but quickly realized that there’s no way they would be able to stick together with all three of them being in separate years. They were together for years as they survived being homeless. A special bond formed between the three which resulted in their closeness and a protectiveness of each other.

Case in point, there were some bullies that chose Yoshiko as their targets. Kanan and You knew that Yoshiko could easily beat them, but it bothered them that the youngest in their group was being bullied nonetheless. In a few months of enrolling, they dropped out and relied on learning on the fly whenever they had the chance. Every now and then the Kazuno’s dropped by to help.

“Ugh, I hate this crap.”

“Come now Yoshiko, we need to at least get our education.”

“We’re thieves.”

“Yeah, all the more reason to learn.”

“Fine, let’s get this session over with.”

“Good girl.”

The study session began as the three sat down and enjoyed their breakfasts. Kanan took the responsibilities as teacher and taught You and Yoshiko. It helped that they had no prior background in school so they can learn the same level of subjects at the same time. Yoshiko was still difficult to teach but her smile said otherwise, as she loved the time spent with Kanan and You.

Lunchtime arrived and they went out to a restaurant to eat. Yoshiko of course, poured a lot of hot sauce into her stir fried rice, to which the other two girls don’t understand how she does it. Kanan went with a healthy option and chose a vegetable sautéed pasta dish. You went classic with steak and vegetables on the side. The meals they shared normally consist of banter about things they could buy or things they see in town that they want to look into. There will be talk about their plans for the following days and training sessions. Other times, they’ll talk about the news and murmurs that they hear about in the city.

Leaving the restaurant, they decided to take a walk in the nearby park. While heading to the park, Kanan noticed something strange on the other side of the street. She called and You and Yoshiko and they looked over in the direction Kanan motioned to. A familiar sight for You as she saw that orange haired girl again.

“I think I ran into that girl once.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, this morning. She looked like she was in a hurry somewhere.”

 “I see why, look.” Yoshiko pointed to a group of people a safe distance back from the orange haired girl.

“She’s being tailed.”

“Must be something important.”

“Yeah, and she knows she’s being followed just not how close they are.”

“Come on, let’s see what’s up.” The three sprung to action and followed from a safe distance behind the suspicious people.

The orange haired girl picked up her pace as she felt danger near. She turned corner after corner, looking back trying to figure out who’s following her. In a panic, she turned into an alley and followed the winding walkways hoping to lose whoever it was that’s tailing her. One wrong turn and she found herself in a dead end with no way out. She turned around and there stood three figures in coats with weapons drawn.

“What do you want?”

“You know, why we’re here.”

“What good is it if I’m dead? I’ve already lost everything.”

“Yeah, but we want to make sure you’re gone for good.”

“Sorry, but orders are orders.”

“You had us on a wild goose chase for a while but this is where it ends.”

“It’s the end for you three.”

An unfamiliar voice was heard and the three hired goons turned around to see Aqours. The girl was confused on whats happening but felt like they weren’t hostile like the other three who cornerd her.

“What do we have here? Little brats trying to play hero?”

“This is adult business. Why don’t you three go home and pretend you didn’t see any of this.”

“I think not. You three are trying to kill an innocent girl so it is our business.”

“Oh, and what, you’ll kill us? Hahaha.”

“Yeah, please, don’t hurt me with that stupid hair bun.”

The three goons laughed hard. They weren’t scared of three little girls. What were they going to do? They were unarmed compared to themselves who had guns ready to shoot down whoever got in their way. Two of the goons bent down from laughing and one got up and recovered.

“Now why don’t you three *sphhhkk*” before he was able to look up, a dagger was thrown into his forehead. His body collapsed and his fellow goons looked on at their now dead partner.

“You little bitch!” Before the other two could respond, You already made her move and stabbed one in the side. She disarmed the other and arm tossed him onto the ground before taking out her dagger from the other goon and stabbing the downed one in the chest. The third goon knelt down in pain and looked on in terror as You stood above him.

“Please, spare me. I won’t do it again. Please.” He begged to no avail as You killed him with a stab to the top of the head. Yoshiko came over and picked up the dagger that she threw at the first goon and wiped off the blood. Kanan looked around and pointed to a trash bin and the thre disposed of the bodies in it, making sure there’s no mess on them. The orange hair girl looked on as they cleaned up the scene. What was on her face wasn’t fear, but something close to astonishment. She quickly ran up to the three girls in glee.

“Oh my gosh that was so cool! Are you three like heroes or something?”

“No, we’re just regular civilian.”

“Yeah, normal people can totally do what you three just did.”

“We’re well trained in self defense. It’s normal for people to take those classes.”

“Yeah but you threw your dagger on point like *hwaccchhh*, and he fell like *thud*, then you came in like stab flip stab combo. That was like straight out of a movie.”

“You’re not scared of us?”

“Why would I be? You three totally saved my life in like a cool way. I could totally fall for you three right now.”

“Yeah, well its nice to meet you Ms…”

“Chika Takami”

“Yes, well Chika it’s nice to meet you. Be sure to head home safe now.”

Aqours quickly left the scene before anything else could happen, leaving Chika in awe. They made their way back onto the main streets and wanted to continue walking around since their walk in a park plans were canceled. As they walked Yoshiko felt a familiar presence behind them.

“Hey, I think that Chika girl is following us.”

“Yeah she is.”

“You think she was serious about having a crush on us?”

“Maybe, we were like knights when we showed up to save her.”

“Yeah you two deal with that. I get enough love from you two every day.”

“Excuse me for one sec.” Kanan separated from the group and Yoshiko and you walked several more feet before they stopped. They made it look like they were talking about something and Chika hid behind a tree watching intently.

“Excue me ma’am, is there anything I can help you with?”

“Ahh!” Chika jumped at the sudden voice and saw Kanan right behind her.

“Woaaahhh! You straight up disappeared and I didn’t see you.”

“Yes yes, how about we talk with the others.” Kanan and Chika made their way to You and Yoshiko. You pointed to an empty spot in the park where there was nobody around and the four walked over to have their conversation.

“So Chika, why are you following us exactly?”

“I wanted to see if you three were gonna do that cool stuff you did again.”

“We didn’t kill them because we do it on a regular basis…. Hey why are you touching my side bun?”

“So cool. Oh, because you did it so professionally. There’s no way any old school teaches that.”

“She’s right, we only did it…”

“Hey! I never got your names.”

“Let me finish!”

“My name is Kanan, she’s You, and the girl whose side bun your touching is Yoshiko.”

“No family names?”

“Kanan Matsuura, You Watanabe, and Yoshiko Tsushima.”

“Cool.”

“Now, why aren’t you going back home?”

“I don’t have one.”

“You’re an orphan?”

“No, its just…well.. my family was killed.”

“What?”

“You see, my family ran this hot springs inn. We were doing pretty well, but then some major hotel corporations started buying up the local inns. My family didn’t want to sell so they resorted to using threats and stuff.”

“Let me guess, it still wasn’t enough to make you sell and they had to take it up a notch.”

“Yeah, so one day we were invited to dinner to discuss selling the inn. They made one last offer. Again my family refused and we left. As we left they opened fire on us and I was the only one who could get away. I was scared, I didn’t know where to go, so I just kept running. I made it back home and packed up whatever I could and left.”

“So how are you making it on your own?”

“I had to find a job so I went to different places to see if they would hire me. Didn’t really work out too well. I took as much money as I could from my home before I ran away. But it was slowly dwindling until this restaurant took me in as a dishwasher. It didn’t pay that much, but it was enough for me to get by. As for other living amenities, I had to get by on what I could find and lived in an abandoned home. Luckily nobody ever looks over the area so I could live there for a while without getting in trouble.”

“You know who tried to kill you?”

“I believe they were the Ohara’s.”

“Ah, that hotel group. I’m guessing they want to make sure you’re dead because you know what kinds of dealings they do.”

“Yep.”

“What do we do Kanan?”

“I don’t know. I feel bad for Chika, but we can’t just get involved on the fly about her situation.”

“Let me be with you three.”

“What?”

“Come on, I don’t know what you three do but I can totally fight. Look.”

They watched as Chika bounced around, punching the air. Well more like some flailing and clumsy footwork. She had energy though, but they weren’t entirely sure if they would trust her to guard a sandwich.

“Look, we can’t take you in.”

“I’ll stalk you.”

“What?”

“I’ll follow you three to the ends of the earth if that’s what it takes for you three to take me in.”

“How about no.”

“I really want to.. quick hide!”

Chika hid behind a tree and Aqours was lost at what just happened. Chika waved them over and so they went over to Chika and hid.

“What are you doing?”

“Look, those are more goons that were hired to kill me.”

“How do you know?”

“I recognize those coats.”

“She’s right; they’re wearing the same coats.”

“Quick let’s get out of here before anything happens.”

The four girls made their way out of the park and onto the streets. Chika followed closely behind as they went into a manga store. Kanan looked at the cashier and gave her a sign. The cashier reached under the desk and nodded to say they’re good to go. A secret door opened up behind a shelf and Aqours made their way up. Chika was in awe again then turned to the cashier and with a smile gave a thumbs up. The cashier just looked at her like she was crazy. Chika made her way up the stairs into a secret room and found You looking into the park through binoculars. Kanan and Yoshiko was on a computer looking up something.

“What are y’all doing?”

“We’re trying to figure out where those goons are going. You is spotting them right now, while we’re looking for any strange buildings in the area.”

“Like their hideout?”

“Okay, I’m gonna plant a tracker on them.”

“How?” You went to the closet and pulled out a sniper rifle. She loaded it up with a tracker bullet.

“Okay, so cool. And a silencer. Y’all sure about the regular civilian thing?”

You aimed out the window, Kanan made the room as dark as possible to ensure nobody sees anything. When she saw her chance You fired. The tracker flew across the park into a pocket of one of the goons.

“Got it, the tracker is on and we can see where they’re going.”

“What are you looking at me like that for?”

“There’s no way I’m not joining you girls now.”

“Looks like they’re getting in a car. Let’s get home and gear up, might take a bit until they stop.”

Yoshiko pulled out her phone and began a transfer program. She linked her phone to the computer and in seconds the tracking signal transferred to her phone. The girls left the manga store through a back exit and took a taxi to a coffee shop before walking the rest of the way home. At this point Chika is as involved as they are so they didn’t care about Chika walking into their home like an excited kid in a theme park. Chika ran around touching everything and staring at the cool stuff they have.

“Here.”

“Whats this?”

“Some gear for you. We ain’t bringing you along unarmed.”

“A pistol and a knife.”

“Don’t shoot unless you have to.”

“They’re in a warehouse on Kasunori Ave.”

“Right, Aqours move out.”

“Huh?”

“Oh right, we’re a thief group called Aqours.”

“I knew you three were some cool secret group.”

Aqours plus Chika made their way over to the warehouse. They scaled to the roof with Chika struggling a bit to get up. Yoshiko picked the lock rooftop exit and the four made their way down into the warehouse. There are eight goons in there just talking about where the other three went. They were playing cards with their money and smoking.

“Chika go with You to the other side of the platform. Yoshiko and I will stay here. We need to position ourselves to where we have the advantage.”

Chika and you made their way to the other side, using boxes and support beams as their cover. Yoshiko and Kanan went down a level to get a closer look at the goon.

“Bah, where could those three went? Is it that hard to find and kill one girl?”

“It might, I mean we got a hefty pay upfront to kill her.”

“Whatever man, the Ohara’s pay good money so I intend on doing this job right.”

“What if we fail to find the girl?”

“I imagine they’ll kill us or torture us since we got paid first.”

“Cold blooded.” Three of the goons walked away and into another room.

Yoshiko and Kanan was listening in on their conversation. They’re now sure that they need to kill the goons or they’ll continue to hunt down Chika. Kanan looked up at You and Chika and gave them a hand signal. You dropped a small metal ball onto the ground near the door. As it stands, five goons are in one end and three on the other. Yoshiko and Kanan looked at each other and nodded together and began to move. Yoshiko dropped behind the crates below them. Kanan took the stairs down and behind a car. Yoshiko made cracked a plank on one of the crates and got a goons attention. He walked over to the crates and looked around. Then he went to the back of the crates before Yoshiko popped up and stabbed him while covering his mouth.

A goon saw his friend suddenly disappear and alerted the other four about what he saw. One ran to the other three and before he made it, Kanan choked him before breaking his neck. You and Chika dropped down to where the goons were playing cards and his out of sight.

“Hey where you go?” The goons now notice someone else was missing. They spread out to cover more ground. One circled back around the table; it was a mistake as You incapacitated him. Chika moved over to Kanan and Kanan pointed to the one on the right. Chika got ready and on Kanan’s signal they moved behind the goons. Kanan choked out the one on the left and Chika tried to on the right. He wasn’t passing out as Chika wasn’t doing it properly. Noises could be heard as he tried to break free and Chika ended up having to stab him. The goon was able to let out a short scream alerting the other three.

They came rushing out of the room and it triggered the trap You laid as smoke shot out and blinded them. Yoshiko and You ran up to the side and took them out. Kanan looked over at Chika with a look like “Seriously?” Chika scratched the back of her head and apologized.

“That takes care of that.”

“Sorry, I didn’t know how to choke out someone.”

“Yeah, well good thing You placed a smoke trap at the door.”

“So now what?”

“We look around. There might be some ideas on what the Ohara’s are going to do or something worth selling.”

“Well, there’s a lot of money on the table over there.”

“Let’s look in their cars.”

“Hey look! A note of some kind.”

“Well, looks like the Ohara’s don’t care about you anymore. Says here not to return until they kill you.”

“They basically realized that your word probably won’t have that much affect on them since they have the resources to ensure they’ll stay in the clear.”

“Hmph, they’ll regret it someday.”

The group took all the money they found and took one of the cars out of the area. They all returned back to the house to unwind. You decided to cook up some food for the group. Yoshiko laid on the couch and Kanan read a manga at the dinner table. A few minutes pass until they realized something. Quickly looking over to the person in question, they see Chika messing with her gear.

“Oh yeah, so what are you going to do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you can take all the money. It was your issue and we helped you out so take it.”

“Oh well, I was hoping to stay here with y’all.”

“Why?”

“It’s more fun here then being back at some lame house by myself.”

Aqours huddled up and talked it out to each other. They didn’t think about having another person join them. Well, maybe more like a connection separate from them like the Kazuno’s, but actually joining the group is a different thing entirely. They stopped real quick and looked at Chika, who returned a smile and waved. After some discussion, they came to a conclusion.

“Well Chika, as leader of our group, I would like to welcome you into Aqours.”

“Yay! I won’t let you down chief.”

“Yes, very good. Is there anything you need before we get down to business?”

“I would like to get my stuff from the house I was staying at, if it won’t be too much of a problem.”

“Of course, You will take you there and back.”

“Awesome, I’ll be in your care You.”

“Uh yeah, happy to help.”

“Good, then we’ll give you a tour of the house when you get back.”

“One more thing.”

“What is it Yoshiko?”

“We need to train you. You were sloppy as hell. If we don’t train you, you could end up dead or something.”

“Good point. We’ll start tomorrow once you get settled in. The three of us will train you as much as we can.”

“I can’t wait! What about school?”

“We’re home schooled. Kanan will take care of that.”

“Great, another person to teach.”

“I’ll be in your care Chief Sensei!”


	3. Angel Playing the Piano

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of the Riko Recruitment

It’s been about a month now since Chika has joined Aqours. Training was progressing smoothly. At first Chika was clumsy and had bad form and, well everything. It was a wonder how she managed to do what she did when they took out the goons hired to kill her. They had to admit that her determination was nice to see as Chika tried hard every day to improve. Kanan, Yoshiko, and You each took turns training her. Academically, she was about the same as Yoshiko, a bit of a problem. Kanan now had to find a way to motivate two people to learn.

Today, Yoshiko decided to go to a coffee shop for her breakfast. She sat at a small table at the far end of the shop, enjoying her coffee and muffin. This was also a good time for Yoshiko to pick up on the word around the streets. Carefully listening in on conversations and watching for any interesting people walking into the shop. As she finished her light breakfast, a soothing melody started playing. The rhythm of the piece entranced Yoshiko as she listened in wonder.

Her eyes looked to the source of this amazing sound. Looking up onto the stage, she was struck with a view that astonished her. A red head, with long beautiful hair, a hairclip to her right, a white one piece dress with a white pearl necklace, white earrings, golden eyes, and pink lipstick. An angel? She’s so beautiful, Yoshiko thought as she stares intently at the girl.

“Um, can I help you?”

“Hm?” Yoshiko didn’t realize that she was now face to face with said girl as she somehow walked to the stage.

“You, kind of just walked up here?”

“Oh, sorry. It’s just that it was beautiful.”

“Thank you. I practiced for this. It’s nice to be complimented.”

“You’re beautiful too.”

“Excuse me?”

“Huh?”

“You said I was beautiful.”

“Did I?”

“Yeah, you did.”

“Well, its true. Your beautiful and like nice.” What are you doing Yoshiko? Pull yourself together.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, no problem.” Come on Yoshiko, don’t make this more awkward than it already is.

“Is there anything else you need? You look like you’re out of it or something?”

“I like strawberries.” No, why, why would you say that Yoshiko. “And chocolates” Stop talking Yoshiko, please, you’re ruining your chances.

“Okaaay? I guess I like them too.”

“Really?” We share something in common! Yes! Time to go for the kill. “I’d like them on you though.”

“What?”

“Nothing. I did not say that.” Dammit Yoshiko, not that kill. Walk away now and you can save the last of your dignity. “I’ll just be going now, my friends might start to worry.”

“Yeah, well thank you for the compliments. Hope to see you again Ms..”

“Yoshiko”

“Cute name. My name’s Riko. I hope to see you again.”

“Same, same”

Yoshiko quickly rushed out hoping to avoid further embarrassment. Riko watched on and giggled at how awkward the girl she just met was. Walking hastily down the street, Yoshiko kept replaying what just happened in her mind, sweating more and more, realizing she totally sounded creepy with her last line. Stopping at a stop light, Yoshiko did everything she could to calm herself down. Recite the alphabet, think about the training, think about learning, oh god that shit sucks. She was able to calm down and she picked up on a conversation near her about some jewel encrusted mirror some daughter of a CEO has. Yoshiko made mental notes of what she heard and returned home.

Returning home, Yoshiko found everyone in the living room. She told them about what she heard about the jewel encrusted mirror and it peaked everyone’s interest. They began to make plans about what to do to steal it. They would have to get into the manor, but they need more info on the exact location of the mirror.

“So how do we figure out where the mirror is?”

“We mingle a bit. Look, it seems like the manor is hiring extra workers.”

“We’ll work there and figure out where the mirror is. We can also figure out the layout of the manor to plan our escape route.”

“Do all of us need to go?”

“It would help, we just need to locate our prize and the route we’ll use then we strike at night.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

“Remember to wear some soles to look taller and lie about your age.”

Aqours applied for the jobs at the manner. You was placed in the kitchen staff as an assistant chef. Yoshiko and Kanan were assigned as extra guards. Chika was a maid. For the next few days, they worked, getting an idea of the layout of the manor. Chika having cleaning duties found some points of entry that could be useful. You cooked and carried food to specific rooms so it was tough for her to get anything valuable out of it. Yoshiko and Kanan were guards so they had to patrol their assigned areas on different days.

On one patrol, Kanan took a close look around the manor. She observed the windows and ivy growing on the walls of the manor. There were some lattice panels that looked good for climbing. The garden was separated by arbors with plenty of bushes and plants to block vision. There was a fountain at both ends of the manor. A balcony on the east end of the manor could be a possible escape point if need be. A pond was at the back and Kanan carefully looked in it to see if it’s possible there’s some secret passage or something. After a couple of patrols, Kanan had a good picture of where things are outside of the house.

Yoshiko mainly patrolled inside. She went into bedrooms, bathrooms, a private library, a study, art room, music room, any room really. It was a lot of stuff but none of them contained the prize. One patrol took her to a room in the back corner of the manor. They walked in to see a stand in the middle of the room. There was a small rise wall splitting the room in half. As they got closer, Yoshiko found what she was looking for. The jewel mirror, perched on the stand in a glass case. Bingo, Yoshiko thought as she looked around the room for all possible exits. Two doors only, one on one side and one on the other. There are windows that probably led to the back gardens. Ceiling tiles that could be used, but they didn’t have much time to survey a passageway in the ceiling of the manor.

After a few days of working and Yoshiko finding where the mirror was kept, Aqours met up to plan their heist. Yoshiko will be the one to steal the mirror. Kanan will be on guard duty and let Yoshiko leave some openings in the manor for Yoshiko to go through. You and Chika are to be outside and ensure there are no guards in the back gardens for when Yoshiko makes her escape. They will make their way down the trail to the left side of the house onto a side road and a car will be there for their escape.

“Okay, we all have our roles. Yoshiko, climb up the east side of the house using the vines on the side. I unlocked a window for you to get in the manor. Make your way to the room with the mirror with the path I gave you. I’ll do my best to keep the area as lightly guarded as possible.”

“Got it.”

“We’ll start taking out guards when you’re about to get the mirror. Taking them out now, will only raise suspicions.”

“Give us the signal Yoshiko, and we’ll begin taking them down.”

“Alright, let’s begin.”

The plan commenced. Yoshiko made her way through the east garden. Kanan called some of the guards over for a short chat. She mainly talked about problems with guarding at night, and if the money they’re getting paid was enough. Luckily she knew about some of the guards who were on duty at night, and had an idea of their problems with the job. Yoshiko climbed up the ivy and gave Kanan the signal to move inside once she reached the window.

Yoshiko was in the study. She locked the window and made her way to the door. Suddenly the door knob turned and Yoshiko took to cover to the side of a book shelf. A guard walked in and she looked around the room. She stopped at a painting and observed it. Yoshiko peeked out to see where the guard was. She was about to step out when the guard turned and headed in Yoshiko’s direction. Yoshiko squeezed herself into the corner as much as she can as she listened to the footsteps get closer. As soon as she felt the guard was close enough, Yoshiko popped out surprising the guard and knocked her out with an uppercut square to the chin. Yoshiko caught the guard before she fell to the floor and gently placed her in the corner.

Yoshiko got out of the study and went down the hallway. There were two doors to the right from the end of the hallway that was the art room. Yoshiko would take a shortcut through there. As she entered the room, there were two guards at the other end of the room. Yoshiko quietly closed the door and got behind a display case. She watched as the two guards talked and talked until they resumed their patrols. They went in opposite directions and Yoshiko tried to get an idea of where the two were at during their patrols. Steadily Yoshiko moved from cover to cover. If she could make it out without any contact it would be nice. Yoshiko was now in the middle of the room, she was about to leave when a flashlight shone from the corner. She stopped and slid to the opposite side of the case. The guard turned and faced the opposite wall. Yoshiko peeked out and saw the guard wasn’t looking in her direction and the second was in the other corner. Yoshiko took the chance to grab the guard near her from behind and choke him out. Then she lured the second guard over as she looked for her partner. As soon as she got near Yoshiko choked her out too and hid them in the far corner of the art room.

As Yoshiko was going through the art room, Kanan was making her way through the manor to the back right room. She needs to lure some of the guards away to make it easier for Yoshiko to get through. Before Kanan could make it to the back hallway, she heard a strange noise near her. She turned around to see what it was. She shone her flashlight to the corners and down the walkway to her right.

“Hey you.”

“Huh? Yes?”

“Come with me, we need someone to guard the second entrance to the treasure room.”

“We don’t have somebody there already?”

“Nah, they never reported in. Come on, you’re with me.”

Fuck, Kanan mumbled. She thought about what the hell could have happened for guards to not show up to their post. Now she can’t help Yoshiko out with the path, since she’s now on guard duty with another guard. Kanan also can’t call in to tell Yoshiko the problem, so she has to hope Yoshiko can figure a way out herself.

As Kanan and the other female guard arrived to the back door to the treasure room, the guard called Kanan over. She asked her for her name.

“What’s your name?”

“Yuki…..Sakamoto”

“Okay, I’ll write that down. We’ll get extra pay for taking over the duties of those lazy fools who missed their shift without even calling in.”

“Yeah, that’s uh, strange.”

“Tell me about it. You would think when they chose to hire more workers, they’d at least make sure that they are punctual and actually show up.”

“Hate non-punctual people. Waste of time.”

*ching*

“What was that?”

“I don’t know?”

“Follow me, sounds like it came from over here.”

Kanan and the guard walked towards the spot where the sound came from. Reaching the spot, they looked around and couldn’t find anything. The guard scratched her at a lost at what the sound was.

“Huh. Must’ve been something with the building.”

“Must be, I’ll return to our post.”

“You do that.”

As Kanan walked away, the guard continued to look around. Soon enough she sees something sticking out of a drawer. She went to look and opened it up.

“Shit, we have an intruder, I repeat, we have an intruder, all guards on alert!”

“Fuck!”

Yoshiko made her way to the back of the western hallway. She looked at the area of the treasure room and saw five guards there. “Dammit Kanan, you said you’d take care of it.” Yoshiko tried to figure a way to the room while there are five guards there. Several scenarios played out in her head, but there was no way she could neutralize all five fast enough without an alert being raised. Looking back at the area, her eyes wondered around trying to see any way she can get in. Two guards began to walk away. They turned and went out the door leading to another room. It was a perfect chance for Yoshiko as now it’s only three guards. Pulling out a small shock chip, she formulated her plan. Quietly observing the guards, she waited for an opening. Once all three looked in different directions, Yoshiko made her approach. When she was close enough, she threw the shock chip to the furthest one, activating it and stunning the guard. The other two looked over to the downed guard and Yoshiko leg sweeped the one to the right. She then punched the guard to the left in the gut before kneeing him again to the side of the head. Yoshiko finally looked to the guard on the ground and punched him out cold. After the takedowns, Yoshiko looked around to see if any guards were heading her way. The coast was clear and Yoshiko moved the bodies to an obscure location and made her way into the treasure room.

Once in the treasure room, Yoshiko approached the case. She crouched down and searched her pouch for her glass cutter. The glass case seems thick, so she needed a sharper one, as she fumbled through he pouch. When she looked up, the sight of a familiar red head surprised her.

“Riko?”

“Yoshiko?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to split this chapter into two separate chapters as it got too long.
> 
> The timestamps are a bit different throughout the heist. For example when Yoshiko made her way into the treasure room, Kanan was still talking to the guard in the back. She didn't call for an alert yet.


	4. Fallen Angel and Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of the Riko Recruitment

“Riko?”

“Yoshiko?”

“The hell are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m stealing the mirror.” They both said in unison.

“No you are not, I’ve been planning on stealing this for days now.”

“I’ve been searching for this for weeks.”

“Tough luck, I got here first so it’s mine.”

“Yeah, being first doesn’t matter. Now move out the way so I can steal this.”

“Nuh uh, you may be pretty, but I ain’t letting you steal what I’m stealing.”

“Well try and stop me.”

Riko broke the glass case with a blunt object much to Yoshiko’s displeasure. Riko grabbed the mirror just as Yoshiko did. They both pulled back and forth for possession of it. The two snarled at each other, yanking each other whatever which way, trying to pry loose the mirror from the other’s grasp.

“…….inturder, all guards on alert!”

“What the hell?!”

“Shit, let go would you?”

“No way sweet cheeks, this is mine and my team’s?”

“Team?”

You and Chika were outside patiently waiting for Yoshiko’s signal. Time passed and Chika got bored but You assured her that securing an escape route is important for any heists. Soon, they heard an uproar and guards began to run around the garden. Chika and You hid lower and peeked at what was happening.

“What’s going on?”

“We’ve been compromised.”

“What?”

“There was another agent in here with us. I’m trying to get the mirror from her right now.”

“Well shit, there are guards everywhere now and a lot of them are in the back garden. Your escape route has been compromised.”

“There won’t be any escape if I don’t get this mirror.”

“Find a way then. Chika and I will clear the garden out as best we can.”

You and Chika ran out of cover. They waved at the guards to get their attentions and it worked as they began to chase them. You and Chika ran towards the front of the manor hoping they were able to pull away enough guards from the back.

“What do we do now?”

“We get them to chase us. We’ll turn right and get into the car and see if they’ll chase into the city.”

“What about Kanan and Yoshiko?”

“They’ll have to secure their own escape routes. Or last long enough for us to retrieve them.”

As they ran, bullets came ringing by their ears. You cursed their luck and told Chika to fire back but to keep running. They both pulled out their guns and fired back a bullet here and there. Killing the guards is not their main priority, escape is. Hopefully their firing back, would slow their pursuers long enough to create a good distance between them. They continued their down slope run then took a sharp turn right, into some woods. Chika looked back and saw the guards still chasing, with only a few breaking off the chase.

“When we get in the car, just keep shooting. Stop once we get into the city. We’ll figure things out from there.”

“Roger!”

Kanan ran around with the guards scrambling about the manor. She needs to get out without anyone seeing her. As she was running, she would steadily drop her pace so she would end up in the back. When she saw her chance, she snuck away from the group and into the kitchen. Remembering that You said something about a back door in the storage room, Kanan went to the back of the kitchen and located the storage room. The back door was behind come barrels so Kanan moved them out of the way. Opening the door carefully, Kanan looked outside to see if anybody was there. Confirming the coast was clear, Kanan snuck out and into the east garden and out the trail Yoshiko used to get in.

“Let go!”

“You let go!”

“Hey! Intruders in the treasure room.”

“Damn it all.”

Yoshiko pulled out her gun and shot the guard in the head. Yoshiko had enough and grabbed Riko’s hand and pulled her along to the window. More guards came in and started shooting at them.

“Hang on!”

“What?!”

Yoshiko ran with Riko in tow and jumped out the window falling two and a half stories to the ground below. Using their momentum, they rolled to break the impact of the fall. Riko began to get up and saw the mirror in front of her. She picked it up and confirmed that it wasn’t broken. Thankfully Yoshiko let go mid jump and she was able to protect the mirror during their fall.

“Come on!”

Yoshiko grabbed hold of Riko’s hand again and they made their way into the western woods down the slope of the path. The guards began their pursuit and shot at Riko and Yoshiko. Yoshiko began to run side to side a bit to avoid giving them a straight line shot at them. She tried to call You and get the situation with their getaway.

“How are we getting out of here?”

“Kanan, Yoshiko, you two will need to make your way into the city. Chika and I are hiding out right now waiting for them to stop looking for us. Once things die down, we’ll pick y’all up. Just give us your location when you’re clear.”

“I’m heading down the east side. No pursuers on my end. So I’ll be at the broken billboard leading up to the east trail to the manor.”

“Might be a bit for me, still got guards on me. I’ll try to get away the best I can.”

Yoshiko looked back and saw a good gap between them and the guards. She then took a left through a path with more tress in the way. The two girls continued their escape; the city lights were entering their view as they approached the city. Riko was tiring, but she couldn’t say anything as her attempts were cut off by Yoshiko urging her to keep running. They jumped over a barricade and stopped as a car sped by the road. Quickly they picked their pace back up and Yoshiko began to look for a place to hide. She pulled Riko into an alley and there was a small nook sticking out of one building and they hid behind it for a bit. Yoshiko pressed Riko into the wall as they squeezed into the small space.

Riko was a bit surprised at their close proximity as she can feel the outline of Yoshiko’s body. Her face was red and it wasn’t from all that running they did. She looked at the shorter girl as that was all she was able to do in their positions. Yoshiko never noticed as she was looking towards the street, waiting for their pursuers to pass by. When there was no more guards running by, Yoshiko grabbed Riko’s hand and they began running again. Turning right into a small street and following it, Yoshiko saw an old closed down candy store. They approached the side door and tried to open it but it was locked. Yoshiko rammed her shoulder into the door a few times before it opened. Once inside, they were in the employees’ room. Yoshiko wedged the door closed and sat against it while Riko sat down against the wall next to her.

The two were breathing heavily from all that running. There was a moment of silence as they recovered their breaths. It was quiet, their breathing was all they heard, and from the sounds of it, it doesn’t look like anyone is chasing them anymore.

“You, I’m at the Riji Dagashi Shop.”

“The one that’s out of business right?”

“Yeah, pick me up when you can.”

“Got it, we’ve almost reached Kanan, so sit tight.”

“Okay.”

Yoshiko ended the call and took one deep breath. She looked up to the ceiling for a moment and pulled out her dagger, still sheathed. She ran her thumb around the neck and hilt as she looked at it. Yoshiko looked to her left and saw Riko looking at her. Yoshiko’s eyes wondered about Riko’s body before she made eye contact again.

“What?”

“Nothing. I noticed you don’t have a weapon on you.”

“I did have one.”

“Did?”

“I dropped it when we jumped out the window.”

“Nice.”

“It’s not my fault, you just suddenly pulled me and jumped.”

“I saved you from getting killed.”

“It was under control.”

“Yeah. Hopefully they don’t trace that weapon to you.”

“It’s fine. It was a gun from one of the guards.”

“Let me guess, you didn’t hide the body well.”

“What?”

“Based on what just happened. There is no way my team fucked up. The guards were up when I met you. I was certain to hide the bodies in areas where nobody would check. Which means that it has to be something you did.”

“Hmph, I didn’t fuck up.”

“Whatever you say…. Here take this.”

“What?”

“Take my dagger. We’re safe, but I’d rather be ready just in case they get smart.”

“You’re just gonna give it to me?”

“Sure. Take good care of Laelaps.”

“You gave it a name?”

“Yep. It has some sentimental value, but right now survival is more important.”

“You don’t even know me, and you’re going to give me a weapon.”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“Because I know you won’t kill me.”

For whatever reason, that comment agitated Riko a bit. She tightened her grip on the dagger and bit her lip. The almost aloof look in Yoshiko’s eyes only agitated her more. Riko jumped at Yoshiko and held the dagger to Yoshiko’s throat.

“What do you know about me?”

“I know you play piano. You’re probably in the same line of work as me. You’re probably a kind person.”

“You got all of that from the limited time we know each other?”

“Yeah.”

“How are you sure I won’t kill you right now. How do you know it’s not all a ploy to trick people?”

“The music score you played was beautiful you know. It felt like a person who was looking for a place to belong. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I could tell you weren’t happy about something.”

“You don’t know me!”

“Then kill me. I assure you though, that we’ll meet up real soon if you do.”

“What do you mean?”

“If a certain two people find me killed. You better be good at running for the rest of your life because they will stop at nothing to avenge me.”

Riko pressed the dagger to Yoshiko neck. She locked eyes with Yoshiko’s but there was no fear in those pink eyes. Riko remained on top of Yoshiko, trying to see any weakness in Yoshiko. There were none, and Riko backed away, returning to her original spot.

“You’re right.”

“About what?”

“I was playing piano because my mom loved it. She told me that my skills would get me the life I wanted. We weren’t particularly loaded or anything, but my mom supported me as best as she can. Then some people came in and thought I would be the best musician in Japan. They wanted to get me into music shows to showcase my talents. But it was all a lie. They tricked my mom and the money she invested on me was wasted. They said she had to pay back the money that they spent. My mom struggled working trying to pay off debts that wasn’t hers. She was top kind to raise a complaint. Soon enough she ended up dying at work because of her exhaustion. Which was a lie, because I saw all the drugs my mom took to make it through her day. Just to be able to smile and support me. Those bastards, I hate them so much.”

“That’s why you closed yourself off. To keep people from lying to you and to protect yourself.”

“Only way to survive.”

“So how did you live after all that?”

“I moved from place to place. There was one location that I would store some extra things at as an emergency. I would find stores or cafes that had a piano and tell them that I’m a piano prospect and that my parents gave me permission to play music at different locations. They bought it and I would play there for a while before moving to a new location. The money was enough but I knew I needed to do a bit more. So I resorted to stealing whenever I could.”

“Sounds familiar.”

“What?”

“I’m somewhat in the same boat, and my team also.”

“Guess we have something in common afterall.”

“Small world.”

“You’re not the same person I met back at the café are you?”

“Same person.”

“You bipolar or have multiple personalities or something?”

“I don’t know. Why you ask?”

“The one I met was awkward and looked like she couldn’t keep herself together to hold a 10 second conversation. The one in front of me right now is confident, has charisma, calm, and well, serious.”

“This is a life threatening thing we do.”

“Don’t you think the change in character is a bit too drastic?”

“I think I’m the same in any situation.”

Yoshiko and Riko got to know each other better as they waited for their pickup. Riko was weary of Yoshiko, but she felt like she can truly trust Yoshiko. She had a genuine smile on her face for the first time in a long time. Their moment came to an end when You called Yoshiko telling them that they’ve arrived. Yoshiko and Riko walked out of the shop and garnered some looks from the rest of Aqours.

 “Looky here. Our Yoshiko not only stole the mirror, but also got a girl to take home.”

“Woooo~, to think Yoshiko is growing up so fast.”

“Do you two need some private time when we get home?”

“You three are something else you know?”

Yoshiko laughed as she got into the back seat with Chika and waved at Riko to hop in. The ride home was a quiet one. Chika couldn’t handle it so she started telling everyone how cool their car chase was as You and her got away from the guards. A bit to the annoyance of Yoshiko as Chika used her as an assistant to the story telling. But still, it was a fun time acting out things Chika explained.

Once they arrived back home, You parked the car in a discrete garage, this garage is where they place their stolen vehicles to be sold off. The five girls walked into Aqours HQ, and they took a quick breather in the living room. Riko felt awkward in the situation and stood most of the time. Kanan told Yoshiko and Chika to go up to the armory room and put all their gear away. Kanan and You told Riko to have a seat in a chair and to relax. Riko complied but was then met with guns pointed at her.

“Now that we’re alone for a bit, we have some questions for you Ms. Riko Sakurauchi.”

“I-I don’t understand.”

“Don’t play dumb. We heard a bit of your talk with Yoshiko.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, she didn’t turn off her communicator all the way, but we heard things up to the point where you tried to kill Yoshiko. Then it turned off.”

“I want you to know that we don’t take too kindly to people who try to kill our Yoshiko you see.”

“We wouldn’t have minded much about you causing a problem in our heist, but you made a mistake when you threatened Yoshiko.”

“Ah, you-you must be the two people she was talking about then.”

“Hm?”

“She said I’d regret killing her because two people would hunt me down if I did.”

“Yes, we would be the two.”

“Well, it was all a misunderstanding. After talking it out, we were on good terms. I promise.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, we’re all good.”

“Okay, it seems Yoshiko has taken a liking to you so we’ll let you be.”

“What are you two doing?” Yoshiko asked, walking back to the living room with Chika.

“Nothing, just trying to understand Riko’s motives.”

“Well she’s a good person. I don’t think we have to worry too much about her.” Yoshiko got some soda out of the fridge and tossed an orange one to Chika.

“What do we do with Riko?”

“I think we should let her join us.”

“Really? Yoshiko wants someone to join us?”

“Yeah, she needs some work on her skills, but I think she’ll be good to have in our group.”

“Wow, you hear that? Yoshiko is recommending you to join.”

“I guess, I’m in with you all now.”

“Great! Welcome to Aqours Riko.”

“Yay! Another friend!”

“But you two were trying to kill me.”

“That was in the past. If Yoshiko approves of you then so do we.”

After some proper introductions to the group, Kanan offered to take Riko to get her stuff. Kanan was glad to find out that Riko was a smart cookie and welcomed the help of teaching the other three. It also made her job easier when it came to teaching Yoshiko and Chika. Riko asked if its possible to get a piano for the house and Kanan okayed it, but said that Riko should take a good look around the house to find a spot of it before they buy one. Riko agreed enthusiastically, as she can begin living in a house for real and with new friends. The two returned later and found Yoshiko lying down on the couch watching tv. Kanan told Riko to join Yoshiko while she went to take a shower.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“This is a really nice house you guys have.”

“Thanks.”

“I was wondering, where would my bedroom be.”

“Bedroom? Oh right, you don’t know where you room is. Follow me I’ll,, huaaaahhh” Yoshiko tripped and fell face first onto the floor.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m….wh.what are you doing?”

“I’m checking to see if you’re hurt.”

“D-don’t get so close!”

“I can’t see if you’re okay, if I’m too far.”

“J-just…I’m good. Come on.” Riko followed Yoshiko upstairs. They went to the right and walked pass Yoshiko’s bedroom door.

“Here, your room will be next to mine.”

“Wow, there’s more space in here than I thought.”

“Yeah, if you need any remodeling done to the room or something, we have a person for that. They can get it done within a day or two.”

“Really?”

“It’s why this house is good. There’s plenty of space for expanding and remodeling if need be.”

“I guess I’ll start unpacking then.”

“Okay, the bathroom is down towards the end, just pass the next bedroom.”

“Oh, here. I should return this.”

“Laelaps? You can keep it.”

“But you said it had sentimental value.”

“It did, and I’m giving it to you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Think of it as a welcoming gift. I’ll get another one.”

“Then let me help you get a new one?”

“It’s not like we can just go out and buy a new dagger.”

“But you helped me, so let me help you get a new one.”

“Fine, we’ll go somewhere soon then.”

“Looking forward to it.”

 “Sure, have a good night Riko.”


	5. ZuraBooks

Riko woke up in her bed a bit sore from the training the past few days. No wonder Yoshiko had so much stamina she thought as she remembered all the running they did from a week ago with the mirror heist. Walking over to her desk, she looked at the exact mirror they stole from the manor. Yoshiko insisted Riko keeps it as a keepsake for her joining. The mirror could’ve net them $500,000 on the market. Kanan and You didn’t have a problem with it, but Riko wasn’t exactly sure what she would do with such a mirror. She asked them if they’re losing out on money for letting her keep it, but they said not to worry and sure enough Chika and You returned a day later with expensive looking vases ready to be sold.

Riko walked out of her room and saw Yoshiko. For some reason she was crouched down and had her ear pressed against a door. Then she snuck her way downstairs. Wondering what she was doing Riko went to the door and saw “You” on a nameplate, then followed Yoshiko downstairs. She peeked around the corner to see Yoshiko digging through the fridge and pulled out a slice of cake. Focused on watching Yoshiko, Riko failed to notice someone behind her.

“Ee.mmmmm”

“Shhhhh, don’t want to let Yoshiko know you’re stalking her.”

“I’m not stalking her.”

“Oh? Then what are you doing watching her from a distance?”

“I’m just….seeing what she’s up to? She was sneaking around.” Kanan went to peek at Yoshiko then went back to Riko.

“Oh, you’ll see soon.”

“See what?”

Kanan pulled Riko to the side against the stairs. A few moments later, You came down and snuck into the living room. Kanan and Riko then moved up into the corner and looked at what You was doing. When Yoshiko was turned around You attacked.

“Yoshiko~!”

“Wah!” You tackled Yoshiko to the ground.

“What were you eating?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s not what I see.”

“Your eyes are lying to you.”

“Then you won’t mind if I lick this bit of cake off you right?”

“I ate some cake okay, just don’t lick me.”

“Too late, llllaa”

“Stop!”

Riko covered her eyes at the scene as her face turned red. Kanan gave a light chuckle and walked into the kitchen. She picked up her two best friends and hugged them tight. Riko quickly made her way back to her room, passing Chika who just got up. Chika wondered what Riko was up to but shrugged it off as she’s starving.

Riko got to her room and looked under her bed. She hastily looked through the books she had and sloppily pushed the box back under bed. She flipped through the book looking for something. Then Riko stopped landing on a page with the picture that looked similar to what You and Yoshiko were doing. Oh my god! Riko thought as she remembers the scene play out in her head. They’re just like the characters in my doujin! Riko kept flipping through the book and ran into a page with a girl being kabedoned by another girl. She thought back to the time Yoshiko was pressed up against her in the alley when they were hiding. A lewd smile popped up on Riko’s face as she keept reading.

Unbeknowest to her, Yoshiko walked in and saw her giggling. Riko suddenly realized someone was there and stared at Yoshiko wide eyed. She panicked and tried to get off her bed but stepped on the box she didn’t hide all the way under her bed and tripped, spilling the contents of her box with it. Yoshiko watched, not sure what to do as Riko fumbled around trying to clean up the mess and pretend none of it ever happened.

“What are you doing there?”

“Nothing at all, just cleaning.”

“You seemed really happy reading your book there.”

“It’s nothing really….don’t come over here. I’ll clean up myself.”

“So you like this stuff huh?” Yoshiko walked over and picked one book up and flipped through it.

“No, don’t!”

“Books, doujins, mangas, you have it all.”

“Please, forget you saw any of this. Don’t tell anybody please. I don’t want to be kicked out.”

“For this? I don’t see what’s wrong with this.”

“Huh?”

“You like what you like, I’m not one to judge. I have two overly affectionate idiots on me on a regular basis if you haven’t noticed.”

“So, you don’t mind that I read this?”

“Nope, some of this looks really good actually. You don’t mind if I borrow some do you?”

“No, go ahead. I could..uh…give you some recommendations.”

“Sure.”

“No problem.” Riko looked a Yoshiko as she sat down and read a doujin she picked out at random. She never thought that Yoshiko would accept her hobby so quickly and even wanted to share the experience. Yoshiko looked over at Riko and raised an eyebrow.

“Something the matter?”

“Oh…no… just wondering why you came in my room?”

“I want you.”

“Huh?!”

“It can only be you.”

“Wha-what are you saying? We only just met and…”

“It’s been a week, that’s long enough.”

“I don’t think I’m ready for that sort of thing yet. You’re cool and all but.”

“What are you talking about; it’s just a quick shopping trip.”

“Eh?”

“You said you would pick out a dagger for me in return for my gift of Laelaps to you. So get dressed and let’s go.”

“Yoshiko you idiot!”

Yoshiko and Riko walked down the street to a shopping district. Riko was still mad at Yoshiko for the confusion earlier. Yoshiko had no idea why Riko was mad as she rubbed her red cheek that had a slight hand mark on it. Just before entering the shopping area, Yoshiko pointed to a pawn shop near the edge of the district. Entering the pawn shop Yoshiko motioned Riko to follow her. They walked by aisles and displays of used goods and Riko wondered why they were there in the first place.

“If it isn’t Yoshiko-chan.”

“Hello Sarah.”

“Is this the new girl you recruited, she looks like a keeper.”

“Guess you could say that.” Riko blushed slightly over how nonchalant Yoshiko said that.

“Sarah? As in the same Sarah that we talked to about the mirror?”

“That’s me.”

“What are you doing here?”

“It’s nice to go and work at a shop here and there to see what values are for certain items. It’s only a temporary thing.”

“You’re not going to get in trouble or anything?”

“Everything’s covered. I wouldn’t be out like this without insurances. So what brings you in today?”

“I need a new dagger.”

“What happened to Laelaps.”

“Riri is keeping it as a gift from me.”

“How sweet, you should take care of Yoshiko. Its not often you find someone like her.”

“It’s nothing like tha…..wait….Riri?”

“It’s my nickname for you.”

“Do I get a say in this?”

“Nope. You can give me one if you like.”

“Does the others have nicknames?”

“Nope, you’re the first one.”

“Even better, now you two have a special bond.”

“Can we just finish this transaction?”

“Right this way. Saya, take over for a bit please.”

Sarah led them through the back of the store. She pushed in a part of the wall and a square piece slid down revealing a keypad. Sarah punched in some digits and a secret door slid open. They walked into the secret room and down some stairs. Sarah flipped on the lights and a room full of weapons welcomed their eyes. All kinds of weapons were up for display, lining up the walls and a few display cases. Riko whistled at the impressive displays and Sarah had a proud smile on her face. To smuggle weapons into a shop like this took some effort and of course the staff working the pawn shop are in on it too. They had to buy out the next to it and turn it into a pottery store to keep traffic low. Picking a spot just outside the shopping district helps prevent a lot of traffic allowing them to get weapons in and out without any suspicions. On the outside they make good money still but down below is where the real money is made.

“Now Riri, survey this display of bladed weapons and choose one that truly fits me.”

“Hmmmm……. This one.”

“Ah good choice, a Kissaki Moroha. Good choice. It been modded to have a modern feel with the handle and distal taper. The blade was shortened a bit for easier concealment. You shouldn’t really have to sharpen it as much as the normal ones or worry about the handle since it’s a modern one.”

“Light, double edged, looks like it can really cut into things. Black and gray. I like it. Thank you Riri, I am very pleased with your choice.”

“Yeah, take care of Nocturne.”

“Nocturne?”

“You gave a name for your dagger, so I gave one to that.”

“Nocturne it is.”

“Oh, and I’ll call you Yocchan.”

“Yocchan as my nickname huh? Splendid name. You may call me Yocchan and only you can use it.”

“You two are too cute. By the way, Laelaps is a similar dagger to Nocturne. The only difference would be the make of the handle.”

“Wait, is that why you liked my choice.”

“We have more in common than we thought.”

“Thank you for your business, I’ll take the payment from your account.”

“See you later Sarah.”

“Bye you two.”

The two girls exited the pawn shop with Yoshiko stashing Nocturne in her boot. They stopped by a croquette stand and bought two to eat. Riko noticed that Yoshiko kept checking her phone and wondered what the girl was up to. When she asked, all the shorter girl said was that she’ll see. Yoshiko led Riko around a few different stores but didn’t really buy anything. As they continued walking around town, a thought suddenly came up in Riko’s mind. “Was this a date? Did she just asked me out to go on a date disguised as a quick shopping trip?” Riko looked over to Yoshiko and she had the same calm demeanor she had from the beginning. “She is cute, and I really love how different she becomes during certain situations. Gap moe? She said I was beautiful when we first met. Did she mean it? I mean, with how she’s treating me, does she like me? Compared to with the other three, she seems to push me away the least. Well the other three are pretty affectionate so it make sense to push them away every now and then.”

Riko was so lost in thought, she didn’t hear Yoshiko call to her. Riko ran into a light pole and fell backwards. Yoshiko came over and helped Riko up. She rubbed Riko’s forehead and checked her clothes to make sure she didn’t get dirt anywhere.

“Before you spaced out, I was saying that we have arrived.”

“To where?”

“This small bookstore.”

“A bookstore?”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“The~, we’re going to steal something from it.”

Yoshiko pulled Riko to the back of the bookstore before she could respond. There was a stairway leading down to the basement and that was their entry point. Yoshiko took out some lock picks and began to work. Tiko peeked through the window to the side and saw that the basement looked unused and unkempt. Something else caught her eye. Yoshiko was almost done picking the lock.

“Hey, Yocchan.”

“What?”

“Is that really the only way in?”

“That’s why I’m picking the lock here.”

“Well the window was unlocked.”

“What?”

“Look.”

“Oh, that’s..not as cool though.”

“Were you trying to impress me or something?”

“Sh-shut up.”

They entered through the window and looked through the mess that was the basement. There were chais, tables, slabs of wood, shelves, boxes, and some old registers tossed about on the ground. Carefully making their way through the mess, the two girls made their way to and up the stairs. Quietly Yoshiko opened the door that led to a storage room. Making sure they were clear, they then moved to the lounge, before making it to the very back of the store.

“Why are we here?”

“I heard that this bookstore has a very rare book.”

“What about the store owner?”

“I checked, this is the time they go on break so we have time to scour about to find it.”They were at the back book shelves trying to figure out where a rare book would be.

“I doubt they would put a valuable book out in the store, and how do you know it’s worth it?”

“It’s an ancient book written in an Egyptian script. It’s supposedly contains secrets to the different tombs across Egypt. That well fetch a high price for sure.”

“Yeah, no way its out here.”

“Would you be perhaps looking for this, zura?”

“Oh, yeah thanks.”

“No problem, zura.”

“Alright, I knew…. Zura? When did we have someone with a verbal tick?”

“Oh, that would be me, zura.”

Yoshiko and Riko turned around to see a girl about Yoshiko’s, maybe just a bit shorter, light brown hair, good chest area, wearing a sweater, and a knee low skirt. Riko looked at Yoshiko for what to do and Yoshiko was ready to grab the mysterious girl before she put her hand up.

“I’m not here to catch you, zura. I want to help.”

“Help?”

“Follow me back to the lounge. It’ll be more comfortable, zura.”

So they followed the girl to the lounge. She made some tea for them they sat at a round table. They just drank tea for a bit, Yoshiko and Riko trying to figure out what’s the angle of the girl in front of them.

“My name is Hanamaru Kunikida. I work part time here.”

“Okay, why are you helping us Hanamaru?”

“Simple, I figured you two were thieves when I saw you.”

“When?”

“I was on the roof and happened to see you two go to the basement door.”

“You could’ve called the cops on us.”

“Then I wouldn’t be able to get help, zura.”

“Help with what?”

“Someone stole something valuable to me and I wanted to get it back.”

“Again, cops.”

“No, that won’t do, zura. I want you two to steal it back.”

“So you want us to steal something that was stolen from you.”

“Correct.”

“Why us?”

“I overheard a conversation between you and an ash haired girl at the back of a store near here.”

“Yocchan?!”

“So you were able to discern that we were thieves and now we must help you.”

“In return you can keep that book and whatever else is of value you find at the apartment, zura.”

“Wait, you know where the thief lives?”

“Yes.”

“Then why don’t you go steal it?”

“I’m not that athletic.”

“Hanamaru-chan, isn’t there something you could get as a replacement?”

“Sorry, but it’s a stolen good and I’d rather not have the authorities involved, zura.”

“Wait, so it’s a stolen good that was stolen from you, and you want us to go steal it back?”

“Yes.”

“Should we go do it Yocchan?”

“I guess, she did give us the book we wanted. Plus if we turn her down, it might spell trouble for us.”

“True. Okay Hanamaru-chan, we’ll go steal back whatever it was that was stolen from you.”

“Thank you, come back here tomorrow and I’ll give you the all the details, zura.”

 With that, Hanamaru thanked Yoshiko and Riko for their time and sent them off. Yoshiko and Riko returned back home to discuss what happened today with the rest. Kanan was suspicious at first but the more details they provided the more she felt like Hanamaru was not a bad person. Chika wanted to know what was important that Hanamaru didn’t want the authorities to get involved, but Yoshiko and Riko couldn’t answer that until tomorrow.

“Well, Yoshiko should take care of this since it was her idea. You will go with her.”

“Eh? I don’t get to go with Yocchan?”

“Yocchan?”

“That’s Riri’s nickname for me.”

“Riri?”

“That’s my nickname for her.”

“So you two are already on the level of the relationship.”

“It’s nothing like that.”

“Sure thing Ms. Stalker.”

“I do not stalk Yocchan.”

“You stalked me?”

“No!”

“To answer your question, I think it would be better if You and Yoshiko go together. If it’s another thief we’re going against, I don’t think you and Chika will be able to handle it. Assuming it’s a high level thief. If it’s some wannabe then it’ll be easy.”

“Yousoro~! Can’t wait for tomorrow.”

“I’ll take over training you two while they’re out.”

Riko was disappointed she didn’t get to go out on the mission. But Kanan, You, and Yoshiko have been doing this for most of their lives so she couldn’t really complain. Taking a walk around the house, she ran into Chika training late at night. She watched a bit and was impressed at her dedication to improving though her studies left much to be desired. Going downstairs to the second floor she saw Kanan heading to the bathroom for a shower. On the first floor she saw Yoshiko and You watching a movie. It hurt for whatever reason to see You cling onto Yoshiko. She already knew that the three original members have a really close relationship. Whether she knows it or not, deep down, she wants something like that with Yoshiko. Riko went back up to her room and went to sleep with her mind sorting things out in her heart.

The next day You and Yoshiko headed out to the bookstore. When they arrived, they found the bookstore was closed for the day. Yoshiko knocked on the door a few times before Hanamaru answered it. After a quick introduction Hanamaru gave them the information they needed. Their target was a book. Hanamaru didn’t say much but says the book has something very valuable inside that. The thief in question was female, and 20 years of age. Her room is on the fourth floor of the Azuki Apartments. Interestingly enough, the Azuki Apartments don’t have that many residents so getting in won’t be too much of a problem.

Arriving at the apartments, Yoshiko and You put on their disguises and entered the premise. They gave a good afternoon to the front desk clerk and made their way up to the fourth floor. Hanamaru didn’t lie; there really aren’t that many residents. There are workers just lazing around and some areas of the apartment have seen better days. Creaking floors, some light bulbs have gone out and needed replacements, and some doors look worn out. You and Yoshiko arrived to the fourth floor and made their way down the hall to the far end and found their room. You was on look out as Yoshiko began to pick the lock. Yoshiko popped the lock and they entered the room.

You signaled Yoshiko not to walk further. Focusing their eyes, they could see wires strewn about in the room. You knelt down to the closest wire and traced along it finding the source. It led to a hidden gun on a bookshelf to the left. Following it, You cut the wire as close to the source as possible to prevent the force of the retraction to set off the gun. Once that was done, they went to the next wire which led to another gun hidden in a chair cushion. Only problem this time was there was another two wires around the source, so You had to carefully cut the wire making sure not to trigger the others.

Soon they reached the bedroom and looked around for any more traps. There were none as they could see and they began the search for the book. They went through the dresser, bed nightstand, bathroom, drawers, and a bag in a chair. It was strange that they couldn’t find anything that matched what Hanamaru said, but Hanamaru was sure that the book was still here. The two thieves searched again and You felt something was off in the dresser. After a closer look there was a slight outline in the bottom left corner. She poked at it a bit and it revealed a secret compartment. Within the compartment was the book they were looking for. Still, they wondered why the book was important as it didn’t look like it was worth anything.

Before they started to leave they heard the door open and hid against the wall. The person that entered was no doubt the thief as they heard a gun get pulled out and cocked. The footsteps got closer and closer to the two. You gave Yoshiko a hand sign and Yoshiko crouched down. The enemy got to the doorway and stopped for a moment. Yoshiko and You got ready waiting for her to come through. The enemy went through and looked Yoshiko’s way but didn’t notice Yoshiko was crouched down. When she realized Yoshiko was lower, she began to point her gun down, but You grabbed her before she could keeping her finger from pulling the trigger. Yoshiko came up and knocked the gun out.

The woman then kicked Yoshiko to the floor and flipped You over. She threw a punch at You which was blocked. Yoshiko came in with a flying kick, knocking the woman back a bit. Yoshiko charged and stopped when she saw the woman throe up a block. Yoshiko knelt down and You springboard off her shoulders and threw a strong cross connecting to the woman’s face. She fell back onto a table and Yoshiko and You grabbed her arms and shoulder tossed her. Yoshiko did a handstand over the woman and used her momentum to do a knee drop to her face and knocked her out.

Confirming that they were good, You picked up the gun, and they exited the room. They made sure to clean up their disguises and locked the door as they left. The book was hidden in a workers bag. Once they were out of the apartments, they took a detour through a residential neighborhood before making their way back onto the main streets. Stopping by an ice cream stand, the two gave one final scan of the area and they could confirm they were clear.

“Man, didn’t think the thief would come back.”

“Yeah, good call on staying low.”

“Most people don’t think to aim low first when they think an intruder is in their home.”

“Good thing we found the book first, it would’ve taken longer if we didn’t.”

“Yep. You want some ice cream since we’re here?”

“Sure.”

“Strawberry and chocolate?”

“You know it.”

“Right, I’ll head back after this. You can deliver the good news to Hanamaru.”

“Alright. I’ll see you back home.”

After finishing their ice cream together, You returned home. Yoshiko went to the book store and found Hanamaru waiting for her. Hanamaru invited her back to the lounge for some tea again before asking if they got the book. Yoshiko confirmed their success and placed the book on the table. There a gleam in Hanamaru’s eyes as she picked up the book and examined the outside of it. She then got up and asked Yoshiko to follow her. Reaching the owner’s office, Hanamaru placed the book down and explained to Yoshiko why the book was important.

“You see this book here is the key to open up this safe here, zura.”

“That’s it?”

“Let me open up this cover, and there.”

“So the key was in the cover. But what was that that dropped out with it?”

“A memory chip, zura.”

“For?”

“It contains the files of all the illegal transactions the owner of this store did.”

“Wait, you were trying to help your boss?”

“Not help, expose him.”

“Really?”

“You see, this guy runs fake charities. Saying that its for the library or helping children get better education. The bookstore thing actually helps make him look legit, zura. In reality the money goes all to him and he spends it buying all sorts of random texts. Some of them are actually pretty good. Some turn out rare and can cost a fortune like the one I gave you. He’ll also buy other pricey items for his own enjoyment. When he runs out of money, her would take money from charity. When he has to much stuff he would burn them and books would normally be the first to go. For me who appreciates literature, it rubbed me the wrong way, zura. He had this book made and put a key and memory chip in it, zura. I was going to do something but a thief broke in and stole the book before I could get a chance. Now we got it and I can expose him to the cops.”

“What happens when you do expose him?”

“I’m just a part time employee. I have no knowledge of this whatsoever, zura.”

“And the key to the safe?”

“It’ll be mine to keep. I’m sure the information in this chip is enough to incriminate him and have them take away all of his possessions to be sold off, zura. The money will be returned to the charities he stole from.”

“Well, it’s your business.”

“Thank you for helping me out, zura.”

“No problem.”

“May I ask you something, zura?”

“Shoot.”

“Do you think you’d let me join you and your group?”

“Why?”

“Well, considering all that’s happened these past two days. I can conclude that you’re a thief, but you still have good morals, zura. You could’ve never came back and kept the book to yourself. Then you probably would’ve figured out about the key and memory chip and used it for your own benefits. But you didn’t. You brought it to me and listened t my story and was fine with me. I think I would like to join your group because of that, zura.”

“I don’t see anything wrong with that. We’ve seen the bad side of society so that’s why we stuck with our morals.”

“So, am I in?”

“Of course. It’s probably more fun than hanging out here all day. Do you live on your own or want to move in with us?”

“Thank you. I would like to move in with y’all. The treasure in the safe will be ours to keep, zura.”

“Should I call my friends to pick us up?”

“If you wouldn’t mind that, it would make it easier to take my stuff to your home, zura.”

Yoshiko called home to arrange a pick up. Kanan came over and took them to Hanamaru’s home then back to Aqours HQ. After a few jokes of Yoshiko picking up another girl, proper introductions were made and everyone welcomed Hanamaru to the team.

“I’m not the most physically gifted person, so I’ll help out in any way I can, zura.”

“Don’t worry about that, with our training, you’ll be fit in no time.”

“Trust me, I had a hard time walking after the first day and I thought I was in good shape myself.”

“That’s only because you overdid things Chika. We told you to take it slow.”

“But I want results now, so I can do all the cool break ins and fights with y’all.”

“It’s all good Hanamaru. I just joined last week so we’ll be training together.”

“That’s good then. I might feel depressed if I’m struggling by myself with training, zura.”

“So is there anything you’re good at Zuramaru?”

“Like a specialty?”

“Yeah. I…. Zuramaru?”

“Because of your speech, I’ll call you Zuramaru.”

“That makes sense. I guess I could provide support on your missions or something.”

“Now that I think about it, when it was just You, Yoshiko, and I; it was tough to get a full picture of areas we’re in. Communications could be tough too if we’re all busy with our parts in the missions.”

“You any good with tech?”

“I can read the manual and learn. I read pretty fast.”

“Then its decided, you’ll be our support for our missions. You’ll still need to be in good physical condition if we need you directly in the field.”

“I’ll do my best, zura.”

“Good, let’s get you a room then we can talk some more.”


	6. Sisterly Treasures

It was a cool November afternoon. Two sisters were out in their family garden tending to the flowers. There were servants there for those duties, but the sisters prefer to take care of their own flowers on their own. The older one with long black hair watched the younger one carefully. The younger one with pink hair tends to get pricked so she wanted to make sure everything was handled carefully. Behind those smiles were dark thoughts. Just recently the older sister had to sit in and watch her family do business. Bribery and extortion was involved. They forced people to commit crimes for their benefits and bribed officials to look pass any transgressions that were seen. At first they didn’t see anything wrong in it as they were young. But as they got older, it became clear to them that their family is wrong. Their riches were fake; nothing was earned, just stolen from the blood, sweat, and tears of others.

“Onee-chan, I don’t like this. I don’t want to live like this anymore.”

“It’ll be fine Ruby. I’ll figure a way out of this, even if it means denouncing our family names.”

“But, what if they try to kill us.”

“They won’t as long as we’re heirs, but once we’re gone, they’ll probably forget we even existed.”

“Did you hear about that bookstore owner?”

“Yes, apparently he stole money from charities for his own benefit but somehow the police relieved information about his actions and raided his store and his house. But…”

“But?”

“Apparently, there was a safe in his office that was empty. He was screaming about why his safe was empty, and when they raided his house, some of his valuables were missing.”

“An inside job?”

“Maybe, there’s no way anybody could have known about his safe or his illegal actions unless someone knew him. There was some reports of a part time worker there who disappeared a day before his actions came to light.”

“It was that part time worker?”

“I would have to believe so. Whoever that person was, not only stole from him, but revealed his plans. So it’s tough to say if they are good or evil.”

“….”

“I think we should get in contact with that person.”

“How?”

“One of our servants used to go to that bookstore. She says there was a back door in the store. We could make contact there.”

“But why would this worker return back to the store.”

“Considering when the raid happened, it’s possible the worker still wonders around the area, so if they see something strange then there’s no doubt they’ll look into it.”

“Okay, I hope what you plan works out.”

“Ibuki-san, may I have a word with you in private?”

“Yes Dia-sama. How may I be of assistance?”

Hanamaru leaned back on a chair in the kitchen. She was exhausted from training with Kanan. It’s been four months since she’s joined, and it feels like the training load is increasing by the month. It was also just a few days ago when her former boss was found guilty of his crimes. She was glad that her plans came to fruition and he’s behind bars now. Chika came in groggy and sat down at the dining table. You handed her a bowl of rice, some fish, and miso soup. While eating, Chika saw the tired Hanamaru and asked with her mouth full, how she is doing. Hanamaru said that she was fine just tired from morning training. You came back and gave Hanamaru a much larger portion of food.

It didn’t take long since Hanamaru joined for Aqours to find out she was a big eater. You took notes to buy extra everything whenever she went to buy groceries, in particular bread.

Riko came down stairs but was dragging Yoshiko with her. Apparently Yoshiko was up late last night playing games. Riko could hear her cuss and yell in anger as she was reading and when she went to bed. She tripped going down the last few steps and Yoshiko fell on top of her still sleepy. Kanan came in and saw the scene and gave Riko a dubious smile and a thumbs up. Riko tried to defend herself but Yoshiko being on top of her, head buried to chest, wasn’t helping.

“So what’s the plan for today?”

“I’m going to walk around a bit. Now that my former boss is arrested, I might drop by to check on the place, zura.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I like books, and there’s some sentimental value from working there.”

“Speaking of which, can we have a mikan bush in the kitchen?”

“Sure, I forgot you need your mikans in order to live.”

“Sweet, I’ll go buy it now.”

“I’m off now, zura.”

“Take care.”

Hanamaru began her walk. She walked around a bit, stopping by a bakery for some bread, and a smoothie shop for a drink. She looked at her old work place and thought about her experience there. As she approached, she noticed someone walking to the back. Quietly following the person, she got to the corner and saw a woman going down to the basement door. On closer inspection, she was trying to break in. Hanamaru called out to the person. At first the mysterious person was scared but then recognized Hanamaru.

“Aren’t you the former part timer here?”

“I guess you could put it that way, zura.”

“Great, I’ve been looking for you.”

“Why?”

“I’m a servant to the Kurosawa’s and there is something we need to discuss that is important.”

“What would they want with me, zura?”

“Well, the daughters asked me to seek out the people who exposed the crimes of the former owner of this shop. I was wondering if you knew them considering the circumstances.”

Hanamaru examined the mystery person in front of her. She thought long about whether or not this person is a friend or enemy. Soon, she decided to go with her instincts and told the woman about the Aqours.

“So you were responsible. Thank goodness, I was scared of what to do if I couldn’t make contact with you.”

“And for what reason?”

“I need your help. Well to be correct, my mistresses, Dia Kurosawa and Ruby Kurosawa needs your help.”

“The two daughters?”

“Yes. I’m Ibuki and I’ve been ordered to ask you to kidnap my mistresses.”

“What?”

“Yes, it sounds strange but please. It’s for their good. They want to leave the family and get away from the crimes that were committed by them.”

“Umm, I’m not sure if I can help you there, zura.”

“Please! I’m begging you to kidnap them.”

Ibuki continued to plead for Hanamaru’s help. Eventually Hanamaru gave in and told her to come back tomorrow after she discussed the matter with the group. Ibuki thanked Hanamaru and provided some extra information and asked when should they meet up again. Hanamaru suggested around the current time tomorrow and Ibuki agreed before leaving.

Hanamaru returned home and called everyone to the living room. She disclosed information about her meeting with Ibuki and her request. Aqours was a buit unsure what to do about the situation as it’s something that hasn’t happened before. Kanan was seen deep in thought trying to process everything that’s been said.

“So the daughters want to be kidnapped so they can get away from their family.”

“That’s not rare to see in rich families. Especially ones with dirtied hands.”

“So what do we do? They wanted to see us and even sent their servant to find us.”

“Can we even kidnap them?”

“I have an idea.”

“What is it Riko?”

“Hanamaru, you told her to meet you again tomorrow morning right?”

“Yes, zura.”

“Why don’t we all go meet her and decide once we have a face to face conversation?”

“Good idea Riri.”

“Yes, that sounds like the best course of action for now.”

“You, get the van ready for tomorrow. That way, we can all be there and keep things secret.”

“Yousoro~”

The morning of the meeting arrived. You brought the van around and everyone got in. They got to the meeting spot early and parked where nobody could see them. They waited for Ibuki to arrive. While they waited, Yoshiko and Chika decided that it would be good to keep loose and wanted to play some games. Ibuki would arrive and was looking around, for her person of contact. Hanamaru got out and waved, telling her to come into the van. Once in the van, she was introduced to the group. Ibuki was surprised at how young Aqours was but moved to more important matters. She explained the situation hoping to give them enough reason to kidnap Dia and Ruby.

“Okay, I’m starting to get the picture now. They’ve seen what illegal activities their family were involved in and didn’t want to be part of the business. So they figured that if they were kidnapped then they would be free to live their own lives.”

“I’m guessing that they have very little freedom.”

“That would be correct. They are always with someone their father assigned to watch over them. The only time they are free to do what they want is when they’re in their rooms.”

“Tough, how can they do that to their own children?”

“Whatever way they can keep the money coming, zura.”

“Are you going to take the request?”

Everyone looked at Kanan as she thought a bit about it.

“We’ll accept. Not only will this help you, but this could give us some experience if we ever have a situation like this happen.”

“Awesome! So how do we kidnap the two princesses?”

Everyone thought about Chika’s question. It would be tough, and knowing there’ll be eyes on Dia and Ruby, they need some way to get them out without anyone noticing they’re gone. Yoshiko looked at Ibuki and she returned a worried look. Then an idea came to Yoshiko.

“Hey, since you’re here, you wouldn’t mind giving us a hand would you?”

“I guess not since I want Dia-sama and Ruby-sama free.”

“Good. Do you happen to have a layout of the home?”

“Yes I do.” Ibuki went through her phone for a blueprint of the home. You told her to connect it to the monitor in the back so everyone can see. They studied the blueprint and Kanan came up with something.

“Okay, first order of business is the guard post here. One on the side into the home and one on the side exiting the home. How many guards are posted there?”

“Two for each post.”

“It appears there’s a docking spot here. We’ll use that as our method of kidnapping.”

“I see. We’ll come in as a delivery service. We can get pass the check point and get to the back of the house. Then we find Dia and Ruby and get them into the back where nobody can see them and drive out.”

“Yes, but two problems, zura. First is how do we get them without anyone realizing they’re gone. Secondly, is it possible we’ll get checked upon exit, zura?”

“Right, that would mean we need a way pass the guard post without a check.”

“For the first one, Ibuki here will help us?”

“What do you mean Yocchan?”

“Simple, Ibuki’s a personal servant to them, so it’s possible she can make it seem like Dia and Ruby are in one place long enough for us to get out.”

“Yes. If we time it right then we can definitely do it. They have lessons just pass noon. I can use that time and convince the teacher that they’ll miss them because something family related came up. Then I can escort them to the loading dock as I’ll be responsible for keeping an eye on them.”

They finished drawing up their plans for the kidnapping with some extra insurances thrown in. Ibuki thanked them for their help and waved goodbye as she left. Aqours spent the rest of the day getting the equipment they need for their mission tomorrow.

The day of the mission arrived and Aqours made their way to Mt. Takao, where the Kurosawa residence was. It was a little over a 45 minute drive. They first dropped off Riko and Hanamaru. The two will be responsible for the guard posts. They’ll find a high position near the post and report when guards are in the area of the loading dock. They’ll also take out the guards at the gate when they’re making the getaway.

Once the rest got pass the check and made their way to the loading dock. Yoshiko got out and got herself up onto the ceiling of the house. She’ll keep eyes on the sisters and Ibuki as they make their way to the rendezvous point. Kanan would pick them up near at the back storage room and get them to the truck for the escape. You and Chika will stay and guard the truck in case guards made their way back to where they are.

It was about time and Ibuki told the teacher that she was dismissed as an important family matter came up. At first the teacher wasn’t sure what was going on as she was told nothing important was happening today, but eventually left. Ibuki made her way to the sisters and knocked on their bedroom door. Dia and Ruby peeked out to check if its Ibuki. Once it was confirmed, they left the room and followed Ibuki. The path they took made it look like a regular old stroll through the house that they would normally do.

Yoshiko following the map of the house stopped and lifted a ceiling tile. She saw Ibuki and the sisters and relayed the news to the team. Kanan got ready and entered the house from the loading dock. She looked around the halls and went left, then another left and then a right. Hearing someone, Kanan stopped and peeked around the corner. There was a guard there blocking her path to the storage room. Looking around, she found the bathroom and went in. Kanan stuck her hand out calling the guard over. The guard knocked on the door and asked if something was wrong. Kanan spoke and said that something doesn’t feel right. The guard asked if she could help in anyway. Kanan now sure of the guard’s position opened the door and dragged the guard in.

Coming out of the bathroom, Kanan was now disguised and made her way deeper into the home. Pass an open veranda in the middle then to the meet up point. Ibuki continued guiding Dia and Ruby through the house. They eventually came up to a guard that was Kanan in disguise. She gave them the thumbs up and Kanan now has to escort Dia and Ruby out. Just before they could, a door opened up from further down the hall.

“And where do both of you think you’re going?”

The four looked in the direction of the voice to see a man and two guards walk out. Ibuki was confused as the man shouldn’t be here at this hour.

“Are you two thinking of leaving the family?”

“We’re just going for our daily rounds.”

“Not at this hour I’m afraid. You two are supposed to have lessons and yet here you are sneaking around.”

“We don’t want this father.” Kanan looked at Dia then back to the man who she called father. Yoshiko watched from the ceiling, calling in the latest development, while trying to think of a way out of this predicament.


	7. Sisterly Treasures Pt.2

Kanan, Ibuki, Dia, and Ruby looked at the head of the Kurosawa house and the two guards behind him. The guards pulled out their guns and aimed at the four. Ibuki stepped forward.

“Please sir, the girls don’t deserve to live this kind of life. They should be free to choose how they want to live.”

“I think not peasant. They are to live the life I choose for them. Now be good and come back to me this instance.”

“We refuse father.”

“You have no choice.”

“We do, Ruby and I will not live our lives tainted by the despicable acts of this family.”

“Disrespectful little….. we gave you your life and luxuries, you owe your life to the family!”

“No father, I don’t want this!”

“Fine, have it your way. I’ll make sure one of you inherit the business and marry the other one off.”

The guards approached the four girls. They stood there knowing if they ran, they would get shot at this distance. Suddenly something dropped from the ceiling. A smoke bomb hit the ground and smoke came up. Yoshiko dropped down and knocked the guards to the ground and took their guns.

“Run!” Kanan yelled as the five made their way back to the truck.

At the loading dock, You and Chika were hiding as five guards have now occupied the area. Chika motioned to You that once, one gets close to the door, she’ll attack. You nodded and got her dagger ready. When one began to open the door, Chika kicked it open knocking the guard down. She then jumped out and punched the guard before he got up. You jumped out from the other side and stabbed one in the waist before kicking him in the head.

The other three guards ran up to fight. You blocked the punches thrown her way. A second guard had a pipe and swung at her. You ducked and stabbed one guard’s foot before tackling the other. She then pummeled the guard she tackled as she tried to block. The second guard grabbed You from behind and choked her as she struggled to break free. The downed guard recovered and approached You, ready to beat her. Chika jumped down from the top with a pipe knocking her out. Then Chika stuck the one holding You in the leg again and again until he dropped. One final strike to the head for a knockout.

The two looked at each other not seeing the fifth guard coming from behind with a knife. When they finally noticed the guard dropped to the floor with needles sticking out of his neck. They looked up to see Dia there. She was followed by Ibuki, Ruby, and Kanan.

“Nice one. When did you learn that?”

“I figured Ruby and I should take some defense classes.”

“I see it worked out, man that was something.”

“You talk like you now favor me.”

“I mean needles are something we do not have on our team.”

“Let’s go!” Yoshiko came running out to the dock with smoke behind her.

Everyone got into the back of the truck while You and Chika sat in the front. Kanan opened a hatch on the back door and one connecting to the driver’s seat. You started the truck and they’re off. Riko and Hanamaru got their signals and approached the guard post. Riko popped up from the side and shot the two guards with sleep darts back to back in the neck. Hanamaru did the same and opened the exit. You pulled up in the truck and the two hopped in the back. They drove out of the residence and onto the highway. Things were calm as they introduced themselves to the sisters and vice versa. You looked at the side view mirrors and saw cars behind them.

“Guess who’s chasing us.”

Yoshiko looked out the hatch and saw cars behind them. Some guards stuck their body out the window and started shooting at them. Clanging of metal and bullet can be heard as they tried to get away.

“You, take the mountain pass route. Do not go into the city.”

“Roger that. You all might want to fight back to get them off our trail.”

“We’re on it. Open the door, we’ll fight fire with fire.”

Kanan instructed Dia and Riko to lay the crates down on the side to make a barrier. Hanamaru opened the medium crate in the back that contained weapons. She tossed submachine guns and handguns to everyone. Yoshiko brought out a crate with ammo and everyone took some to hold onto. If more is needed then Hanamaru would be in charge of refills.

“I hope you three know how to use these.”

“Don’t worry, we do. Ruby.”

“Yes onee-san.”

“It’s for our freedom alright. We must do this.”

“Ganbaruby!”

With everyone ready, Yoshiko opened the door before taking cover behind a crate. A fire fight began as both side started shooting at each other. Shooting was tough to maintain accurately as You drove through the mountain pass taking sharp turns. Bullets flew in the truck but luckily just hitting the barricade they made. Fire was returned back hitting some of the tires of the cars. Sparks can be seen as rims meet pavement. One car lost control and spun out, eliminating it from the chase.

Chika pulled out a gun and some ammo from the glove compartment. She looked out her window and shot at a car coming up to the side. Her bullets cracked the windshield. The enemieis broke the windshield to clear their vision and fired back. Chika ducked back in to dodge and peeked out and shot the driver. The car swerved and crashed into another car.

“Hey! Theres one on my side and climbing to the top.”

“On it!”

“Where are you going Dia-sama?”

“I prefer my fights close and personal.”

“Kanan, go up with her.”

“Hold on, we’re coming up to a turn, use that as your chance to get up safely.”

As You said, they came up to a long turn and a break from the gun fire happened. Dia and Kanan got out and climbed to the top to see two guards trying to make their way to the driver’s seat. They yelled to get the attention of the guards which worked. The guards charged at Dia and Kanan.

Dia leg sweeped her’s and her opponent fell to the ground. She punched down but missed as the guard rolled out of the way. She ran and did a fling kick knocking the guard back. Dia puled out another needle and threw it into the guard’s chest. Dia did one more flying kick drilling the needle in deeper knocking the guard down and off the truck.

Kanan traded hand to hand combat with her opponent. She dodged the punches thrown her way and returned some back. Her opponent grabbed her fist and pulled Kanan into a punch. Kanan staggered back as her opponent went in for another punch. Kanan blocked it with her forearm then threw a punch to the chest followed by one punch to the face. Then she threw an elbow blow to the side of the head and knocked him off.

The gunfight continued as the rest of Aqours tried to eliminate the rest of the pack. Riko managed to hit a driver causing their car to crash. Ibuki took out some of the shooters as Ruby popped a few tires causing some cars to flip over. You yelled out for the group to hang on as there’s a down slope portion coming up with some turns. Kanan and Dia fell down to the ground and held on as You navigated the road. Some of their chasers couldn’t control their cars enough resulting in more crashes.

The fight died down as they enterd a tunnel. Dia and Kanan climbed their way back down into the truck and checked to see if everyone was good. Exiting the tunnel, they looked back to see no more pursuers and Kanan told You to head to their home. You took a long route home to ensure that they weren’t being followed.

Back home, You parked the van at the usual garage spot and they all walked to Aqours house. Kanan offered Dia, Ruby, and Ibuki the couch while the rest pulled up some chairs since there weren’t enough sofa for everyone.

“So, what are you three going to do now?”

“I don’t know, we’re basically not welcome back to our family now.”

“Onee-san, do we leave the city and find a new home somewhere?”

“It’ll be tough, we basically have nothing now.”

“If I may, Kanan-dono I want to ask you something?”

“Yes?”

“Please take in Dia-sama and Ruby-sama?”

“For real?”

“Yes, I believe you all saw how they handled themselves in battle. They’ll be great assets to your team and I can’t think of anyone else that could care for them then you all.”

“But what about you?”

“It’s alright Yoshiko-dono. I’ll leave and find a home. I’m not needed anymore now that I know Aqours will take care of them.”

“Hold on Ibuki. I won’t allow you to just leave us like that.”

“Yeah, you took care of us so much.”

“Wait, don’t we know people who can help with this?”

“Who? Who are you calling?”

“Hello.”

“Hello Sarah.”

“Oh, hey Riko. Looks like your group has grown since I’ve last seen y’all.”

“Yes, these three are Dia Kurosawa, Ruby Kurosawa, and Ibuki-san.”

“Wait, why are the daughters of the Kurosawa house there?”

“We kidnapped them, zura. They wanted to be kidnapped.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Nope.”

“Okay, I’ll ask for details later. Was there something you needed of me?”

“Right. Would you happen have need for someone to help you and Leah out?”

“We could always use a hand. Keeping track of the market and information flying about is a lot of work.”

“Would you be willing to take Ibuki-san in? She helped us in our mission.”

“Would she be willing?”

“Yes Sarah-dono. I’m willing to work whatever you need of me.”

“Welcome aboard then. I’ll send someone to pick you up tomorrow.”

“Thank you!”

“No, thank you for helping out. See ya.”

The call ended and everyone just sat back to unwind. You said she’ll make dinner and Ibuki offered to help. While waiting, Kanan showed Dia and Ruby around the house. They were impressed with the layout of the house and knew they’ll be very comfortable living there. Chika and Hanamaru prepared their rooms. Dia’s and Ruby’s rooms will be right next to each other as requested. Ibuki gets the remaining spare room they have. Once everything was done, they all had dinner together and got to know the newest members of the team.

**Author's Note:**

> Kanan is leader of Aqours
> 
> The first few chapters will be recruitment chapters for the rest of the girls.
> 
> There will be a time skip once all 9 are together so be ready for it.
> 
> I’ll tell their ages if a time skip does occur.
> 
> Currently Kanan is 14, You is 13, and Yoshiko is 12.
> 
> If its a bit confusing, they have to lie about certain things because of their ages. Essentially, using tools to help them look older or taller then they actually are.


End file.
